--- description: The White House and Kellyanne Conway have responded to Johnny Depp's joke about assassinating President Donald Trump title: The White House Just Responded to Johnny Depp's Joke About Assassinating Trump image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6b3bdf11af6f001/6988d2fd196cf410e9040be0/gettyimages-699956772.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The White House Just Responded to Johnny Depp's Joke About Assassinating Trump by [Madeline Farber](/author/madeline-farber/) ## Madeline Farber Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 23, 2017 5:52 PM CUT  Actor Johnny Depp introduces his film 'The Libertine' to an audience at Day 1 of the 2017 Glastonbury Festival, on June 22, 2017\. / AFP PHOTO / OLI SCARFF (Photo credit should read OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images) Actor Johnny Depp introduces his film 'The Libertine' to an audience at Day 1 of the 2017 Glastonbury Festival, on June 22, 2017\. / AFP PHOTO / OLI SCARFF (Photo credit should read OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images)Oli Scarff—AFP/Getty Images by [Madeline Farber](/author/madeline-farber/) ## Madeline Farber Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 23, 2017 5:52 PM CUT The White House has responded to actor Johnny Depp’s [joke about assassinating President Donald Trump. ](http://time.com/4829778/johnny-depp-donald-trump-assasination/ "undefined") “President Trump has condemned violence in all forms and it’s sad that others like Johnny Depp have not followed his lead,” the statement reads, according to [_Variety_](http://variety.com/2017/film/global/johnny-depp-glastonbury-donald-trump-assassination-comment-controversy-1202476937/ "undefined"). “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.” Speaking to the Washington [_Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2017/06/23/johnny-depp-asked-when-was-the-last-time-an-actor-assassinated-a-president/?utm%5Fterm=.886d52fd74e4 "undefined")_,_ [Kellyanne Conway](http://time.com/4805631/george-conway-trump-travel-ban-tweet/ "undefined"), counselor to the President, said that the joke is “no laughing matter.” “These things are real,” she continued, adding that Depp is a “nut job” and that his statement was “not a slip of the tongue.” Conway also warned that Depp’s words could “easily inflame lunatics who wish to bring harm.” In addition, the Secret Service is also “aware of the comment in question,” an agency spokesperson told the _Post._ The spokesperson declined to comment further on the matter due to security reasons. Depp made the joke on Thursday while introducing a screening of his 2004 movie _The Libertine_. While speaking to fans at the screening, the _Pirates of the Caribbean_ star asked, “When was the last time an actor assassinated a President?” “It is just a question — I’m not insinuating anything,” [Depp,](http://motto.time.com/4635183/johnny-depp-heard-divorce-finalized/ "undefined") 54, assured the crowd. “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.” “I want to clarify, I’m not an actor,” he added. “I lie for a living.” Depp has yet to respond to the criticism. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4830714/johnny-depp-donald-trump-assassination-white-house-response/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4830714/johnny-depp-donald-trump-assassination-white-house-response/"},"headline":"The White House Just Responded to Johnny Depp's Joke About Assassinating Trump","datePublished":"2017-06-23T17:52:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T16:17:56.344Z","description":"Kellyanne Conway has also responded.","url":"https://time.com/4830714/johnny-depp-donald-trump-assassination-white-house-response/","keywords":["celebrities","Donald Trump","Johnny Depp","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6b3bdf11af6f001/6988d2fd196cf410e9040be0/gettyimages-699956772.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Madeline Farber","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/madeline-farber/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6b3bdf11af6f001/6988d2fd196cf410e9040be0/gettyimages-699956772.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"BRITAIN-ENTERTAINMENT-MUSIC-GLASTONBURY","caption":"BRITAIN-ENTERTAINMENT-MUSIC-GLASTONBURY","creditText":"Oli Scarff—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4830714/johnny-depp-donald-trump-assassination-white-house-response/","name":"The White House Just Responded to Johnny Depp's Joke About Assassinating Trump"}}]}] ```