The Daily Telegraph

Depp faces investigat­ion after talk of killing Trump

Troubled actor asks ‘When was the last time an actor assassinat­ed a president?’ to cheers at Glastonbur­y

- Arts And Entertainm­ent Editor By Anita Singh

JOHNNY Depp is being investigat­ed by the US Secret Service after asking: “When was the last time an actor assassinat­ed a president?” during an appearance at the Glastonbur­y festival.

The Pirates of the Caribbean star, pictured inset, made a series of ill-advised comments on Thursday night as he introduced a screening of one of his films, The Libertine, at Worthy Farm in Somerset.

“Can we bring Trump here? It’s just a question, I’m not insinuatin­g anything [but] when was the last time an actor assassinat­ed a president?” he asked, to cheers from the crowd.

The answer is 1865, when actor John Wilkes Booth shot dead Abraham Lincoln at a theatre in Washington DC.

“Now, I want to clarify, I’m not an actor. I lie for a living,” Depp went on. “However, it’s been a while, and maybe it’s time.” Video of the speech went viral on social media. Any threat “to take the life of, to kidnap, or to inflict bodily harm upon the president of the United States” is a crime in the US.

The Secret Service said it was aware of Depp’s comments. In a statement it said: “We actively monitor open source reporting, including social media networks, and evaluate potential threats.

“For security reasons, we cannot discuss specifical­ly nor in general terms the means and methods of how we perform our protective responsibi­lities.” Sean Spicer, the White House spokesman, said last night “the lack of outrage” over Depp joking about assassinat­ing Mr Trump was “a little troubling”. Earlier this month, the Secret Service contacted Kathy Griffin, the US comedian, after she posed for a photograph with what appeared to be the decapitate­d head of Donald Trump. Her lawyers said Griffin had “basically exercised her First Amendment rights to tell a joke”.

Madonna was also reported to security officials after telling a rally she had thought about blowing up the White House. The singer later said her comment had been taken “wildly out of context”.

The Secret Service divides all threats into three categories – the most serious requires agents to interview the individual involved, and it is unlikely that this will apply to Depp.

The actor was aware that his comments would attract publicity. “This is going to be in the press. It will be horrible,” he said.

A White House spokesman said: “I hope that some of Mr Depp’s colleagues will speak out against this type of rhetoric as strongly as they would if this was directed towards a Democrat elected official.”

This year has been a troubled one for Depp. He paid $7 million to settle an acrimoniou­s divorce battle with Amber Heard, and was forced to deny that he physically abused her. He is also in a legal battle with his former managers, who have accused him of suffering from “compulsive spending disorder”.

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