Donald Trump Jr. didn’t take long to fire back at Johnny Depp after the actor’s attempt at a joke about assassinating his dad President Donald Trump went viral. Trump Jr.’s ammunition came in the form of recalling the abuse allegations involving Depp’s ex Amber Heard. Moreover, to make sure that his retort to Johnny had a chance of being not just received but repeated, Trump Jr. followed in his father’s footsteps and turned to Twitter.
The saga of Johnny Depp going from what the Los Angeles Times called “snarky to sorry” began when the actor made what he later labeled as a “ bad joke ” in Britain about assassinating President Trump. After Depp made his comments Thursday night at the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts in Somerset, England, the White House issued a statement.
“President Trump has condemned violence in all forms and [it is] sad that others like Johnny Depp have not followed his lead.”
The White House’s statement continued, expressing “hope” that some of Johnny’s actor peers would “speak out against this type of rhetoric as strongly as they would if this was directed towards a democrat elected official.” While Depp’s colleagues didn’t seem to be stampeding to challenge Johnny, the actor himself issued his own apology via People magazine.
In his apologetic statement, Depp offered his regrets for “the bad joke I attempted last night in poor taste about President Trump,” emphasizing that he didn’t mean to cause harm.
“I intended no malice. I was only trying to amuse, not to harm anyone.”
But the saga of snark-to-sorry statements didn’t end there, with the Secret Service subsequently admitting that it knew about Johnny’s remarks. As to whether Depp might now be followed by the Secret Service or his attempt at a joke further dissected, however, the agency declined to discuss.
“For security reasons, we cannot discuss specifically nor in general terms the means and methods of how we perform our protective responsibilities,” stated the Secret Service.
While President Trump used his time on Twitter before the weekend to channel his energies to bills and regulations, Donald J. Trump Jr. stepped up to take a social media swing at Johnny. Trump Jr. previously took on the role of what the Los Angeles Times called “an attack dog during the dust-up over an image of Kathy Griffin holding a fake bloody, decapitated head in the likeness of his father.”
In the most recent brouhaha, Donald Jr. brought up the abuse allegations regarding Depp’s ex Amber Heard, tweeting a link to an article about those claims.
Ha, Depp wants to make social commentary: Johnny Depp’s team knew of alleged abuse of Amber Heard https://t.co/WyybzEx3hT via @MailOnline
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) June 23, 2017
Trump Jr. referred to Johnny’s remarks about the President as an attempt to offer social commentary.
“Ha, Depp wants to make social commentary: Johnny Depp’s team knew of alleged abuse of Amber Heard.”
The link that Donald Jr. included in his tweet about Depp referenced a Daily Mai l article headlined “Johnny Depp’s managers knew he abused his ex-wife Amber Heard and claim he once violently kicked the actress.”
The story used by Trump Jr. as a retaliation against Johnny for the “bad joke” about President Trump claimed that the actor’s team was aware of a 2014 incident during which Depp “allegedly violently kicked” Amber. The Daily Mail also revisited other abuse allegations involving Heard, which began when Johnny and Amber were divorcing last year.
Twitter reacted to Donald Jr.’s comments about the Pirates of the Caribbean star with tweets ranging from support for the President’s son to bringing the First Lady into the social media drama.
@DonaldJTrumpJr what about the abuse your dad inflicts on the First Lady? You know about that but you’re worrying about Johnny Depp.
— Dom (@Underrated_Dom) June 23, 2017
Some argued that actors should refrain from expressing political views.
“Everyone has a right to their opinion, but actors need to keep it to [themselves.]”
However, there were those who supported Johnny rather than the Trump family.
“Replying to @DonaldJTrumpJr @MailOnline…I’d rather have dinner with him than your dad…,” tweeted back one commentator.
Some of those backing Depp offered up colorful retorts in their responses to Donald Jr.
https://twitter.com/NixBryan/status/878246442749624320
“Daddy and @GOP are the laughing stock of the world,” tweeted one individual to Donald Jr. “You just add a little more lunacy to the circus that is more of a Freak Show.”
However, Trump Jr.’s tweet about the alleged abuse involving Amber Heard was retweeted more than 6,400 times and liked more than 12,000 times. And President Trump’s son didn’t stop there.
But I bet she’s a YUGE Johnny Depp fan. https://t.co/ErKr0QyAtd
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) June 24, 2017
Donald Jr. turned to Twitter to slam Depp repeatedly after the assassination joke , pointed out Gossip Cop . One of Trump Jr.’s posts referred to the actor as a spokesman for the “left wing.”
“Depp is another stellar left wing spokesman.”
Also, President Trump’s son linked to another Daily Mail article that contained photos of Amber Heard with bruises, allegedly resulting from Depp. Beyond resurfacing the abuse allegations, Donald Jr. took aim at the possibility that the actor would be fired from Disney films.
“I’d think it would be hard for @Disney to keep him,” tweeted Trump Jr.
Johnny did not respond to the jabs from President Trump’s son, according to Gossip Cop , which speculated that it is not likely that the actor will offer up another round in the snark-to-sorry statement saga.
[Featured Image by Ethan Miller/Getty Images]
