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Appearing in front of a large crowd at the Glastonbury music festival in the UK, Depp called for the death of President Trump. His exact words were:
“When was the last time an actor assassinated a president? It has been a while and maybe it is time.”
Depp was referring to Abraham Lincoln being shot by the then popular actor John Wilkes Booth. As you might imagine, threatening the President immediately caused a ruckus on the internet. In the past, Disney has fired creators and celebrities for their actions, such as their stance on Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, or as most people know him, Pewdiepie.
A “hit piece” by the Wall Street Journal which took several out of context jokes made by the Youtuber and branded him an Anti-Semite. It resulted in the cancellation of his Youtube Red series, being dropped by Disney, and the cancellation of his Youtube creative company Rebel Mode.
Users have drawn comparisons between what happened with Pewdiepie and Johnny Depp.
He said his intention was “to amuse, never to harm anybody.”
However, even with that in mind, Depp has recently been in a whirlwind of scandals. Accused of beating his wife, possibly using illegal drugs and wasting millions on alcohol, things aren’t looking up for the on-screen pirate.
Supporters of Depp, or those who would be better described as antagonists of Trump, state that this is blown out of proportion and that it was merely a joke. Freedom of speech guarantees Depp’s ability to say whatever he wants.
This wouldn’t be factually correct.
Threatening anyone with acts of violence or death are not protected by freedom of speech. Threatening the president is a crime. Hence the hashtags. Supporters also bring up Ted Nugent who had threatened Obama in the past as well. Nugent told Barrack Obama to “suck on [my] machine gun.”
The White House, however, have condemned his actions.
White House Condemns Johnny Depp’s Presidential Assassination Remark: “Sad” https://t.co/pFR7mrfQwV via @deadline 🙁
— Lalanya (@Luvlylayy) June 24, 2017
