UPDATE: White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer also weighed in on Johnny Depp’s comments Friday by describing them as “troubling.”
Following all the backlash, Depp has issued an apology on Friday to People, admitting his “bad joke” was in “poor taste.”
“I apologize for the bad joke I attempted last night in poor taste about President Trump,” Depp said in his statement. “It did not come out as intended, and I intended no malice. I was only trying to amuse, not to harm anyone.”
The White House has released an official statement on Friday, describing Depp’s comments as “sad,” according to ABC News.
“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. “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.”
ORIGINAL STORY: Johnny Depp had a question for the crowd at the Glastonbury Festival before introducing a screening of his 2004 film, The Libertine.
Depp’s controversial comments came during a segment Thursday in which the actor asked the festivalgoers, “Can you bring Trump here?”
He followed his question by saying that he believes that U.S. President Donald Trump “needs help and there are a lot of wonderful dark, dark places he could go.”
READ MORE: Johnny Depp emails reveal actor’s financial woes: ‘What else can I do??’
“When was the last time an actor assassinated a president?” Depp asked.
He then 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.”
WATCH: Actor Johnny Depp is under fire for controversial comments he made about President Trump
“By the way, this is going to be in the press and it’ll be horrible,” Depp said. “It’s just a question, I’m not insinuating anything.”
READ MORE: Johnny Depp’s ex-managers claim he wears earpiece, pays someone to feed him lines
Depp’s assassination appears to be a reference to actor John Wilkes Booth assassination of former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln in 1865.
The actor drew a lot of criticism from Trump supporters on Twitter.
READ MORE: Hollywood still fascinated by Abraham Lincoln 150 years after his death
The hashtag #BoycottDepp began circulating on Twitter after the footage of the actor’s joke appeared online.
Depp played Trump last year in a Funny or Die video parody of the businessman’s 1987 book The Art of the Deal.
Depp’s scenes for the hour-long Trump biopic were shot over four days during a brief window in the actor’s schedule.
The Pirates of the Caribbean actor’s joke comes weeks after comedian Kathy Griffin came under fire for taking photos with a fake severed head depicting Trump.
According to Griffin’s lawyer, Lisa Bloom, the comedian’s inspirations for the photo were Trump’s Access Hollywood “grab her by the p***y” remarks and his Megyn Kelly “bleed out of wherever” statement.
READ MORE: Kathy Griffin: Donald Trump ‘broke me,’ I won’t have a career after this
Griffin had been receiving very detailed death threats, and she had been advised to stay off her social media accounts, along with her personal website. She is also under Secret Service investigation at the moment, again for the first time in U.S. history, said Bloom.
WATCH BELOW: Kathy Griffin: Trump broke me, I won’t have a career after this
“He broke me,” Griffin said. “I won’t have a career after this.”
News network CNN announced that it was parting ways with Griffin, and she wouldn’t be participating as co-host of the New Year’s Eve special with Anderson Cooper, as she had in years past.
Some of her comedy tour venues cancelled her stops out of protest, and she’s been pulled from various lineups across the United States.
—With files from The Associated Press & Chris Jancelewicz
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