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Johnny Depp Alludes to Trump Assassination, Joins Kathy Griffin in the Shush Club

Johnny Depp made the comments while introducing The Libertine at the Glastonbury Festival of Music and Performing Arts.

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Slate is proud to award Johnny Depp an honorary membership to the Shush Club with a special distinction in You’re Not Helping after the actor joked about the assassination of Donald Trump during an appearance at Glastonbury Festival in England on Thursday. Depp was there introducing his 2004 film The Libertine when he was asked about the U.S. president during an audience Q&A.

Here are his comments, via the Guardian:

“When was the last time an actor assassinated a president?” he asked in reference to the death of Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth in 1865.

“I want to qualify, I am not an actor. I lie for a living. However, it has been a while and maybe it is time,” he added.

There’s really no good time to joke about a Trump assassination, but Depp’s comments are especially egregious after a gunman opened fire on Republican representatives during a congressional baseball practice just last week. Depp may also be trying to capitalize on misguided outrage over the Public Theater’s staging of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, which includes the stabbing of a very Trump-like version of the Roman politician. Depp preceded his remarks by warning the audience, “By the way, this is going to be in the press. It will be horrible. I like that you are all a part of it,” because just saying “I’m about to be needlessly provocative to make headlines” would have been overkill.

But provoke he did, and the backlash was swift, with some comparing Depp’s comments to Kathy Griffin posing for a photo with a bloodied Trump head.