Johnny Depp apologises for assassination joke

A White House official condemned Johnny Depp for comments he made about the assassination of President Trump on Thursday. Photo / Getty Images

Johnny Depp has apologized for comments he made on Thursday at a British music festival which seemed to call for the assassination of President Trump.

"I apologize for the bad joke I attempted last night in poor taste about President Trump," Depp told People.

"It did not come out as intended, and I intended no malice. I was only trying to amuse, not to harm anyone."

His apology came a few hours after the White House lashed out at the actor's comments, reports Daily Mail.

"President Trump has condemned violence in all forms and it's sad that others like Johnny Depp have not followed his lead," a White House official said on Friday.

"I hope that some of Mr. Depp's colleagues will speak out against this type of rhetoric as strongly as they would if his comments were directed to a Democrat elected official."

Sean Spicer also spoke about Depp's comment at the White House press briefing on Friday, along with the Public Theater's recently closed version of "Julius Caesar" which included the assignation of President Trump.

"I think that it's, it's concerning when you see a pattern that these comments get made, and these actions get depicted, and the lack of attention that they get when it's, when it's on our side," said Spicer.

He was then asked to address however why President Trump would agree to host Representative Al Baldasaro of New Hampshire at the White House on Friday, who said last year: "Hillary Clinton should be put in the firing line and shot for treason."

Spice said he was "not aware of the comments he made."

Meanwhile, President Trump has yet to comment on Depp's remarks.

Depp was at the Glastonbury Festival in England on Thursday when he made his controversial remarks to the crowd.

The actor was introducing a screening of his 2004 film 'The Libertine' alongside director Julian Temple when he began speaking about President Trump to the over 1,000 people on hand for the event.

"I think he needs help and there are a lot of wonderful dark, dark places he could go," said Depp, which riled the crowd up into a frenzy of cheers.

"It is just a question, I'm not insinuating anything. This is going to be in the press. It will be horrible. I like that everyone here is part of it."

He then asked: "When was the last time an actor assassinated a president?"

Johnny Depp and Julien Temple arrive for a showing of his film 'The Libertine' as he attends on day 1 of the Glastonbury Festival, 2017. Photo / Getty Images

The crowd again cheered, and Depp added: "I want to clarify, I am not an actor. I lie for a living. However, it has been a while and maybe it is time."

In the wake of those comments the Secret Service declined to say if Depp was under investigation, explaining to DailyMail.com: "For security reasons, we cannot discuss specifically nor in general terms the means and methods of how we perform our protective responsibilities."

Depp meanwhile did not seem bothered at all by the uproar as he performed on Friday with actor and singer Kris Kristofferson at the festival.

The silence of President Trump in the matter is notable in the wake of comments made by Kathy Griffin.

President Trump lashed out at the comedian and she was aggressively attacked by Donald Trump Jr. on Twitter after she posted a photo of herslef holding what looked to be the decapitated head of the commander-in-chief.

The comedian broke down in tears during a press conference earlier this month as she detailed the torrent of abuse she has been receiving online, and the constant death threats which she described as detailed and specific.

Later in the interview Griffin said that her career was likely over now as a result of this incident, and that President Trump had "broke" her, moments after she declared: "There's a bunch of old white guys trying to silence me!"

Griffin, 56, then declared at one point that this would not be happening to her if she was a "white man."

It has been almost 24 hours since Depp made his comments, and not one member of the Trump family has even mention the comments made by the actor, who is also a "white man."

Depp's comments do mean however that he will likely not be getting an invite to the White House any time soon, though he has been to visit many times in the past.

He was even part of a cover-up after a 2009 visit it was revealed in Jodi Kantor's book "The Obamas."

Depp appeared at President Obama's first ever Halloween party in the White House dressed as the Madd Hatter for an Alice in Wonderland-themed event that was organized by the film's director Tim Burton.

The Obamas became concerned however that the event would cause too much controversy given the state of the economy and job market, and decided to hide the festivities and never acknowledge Depp's service to the excited youngsters.

That party also featured an appearance from the original Chewbacca and Alice herself, actress Mia Wasikowska.