While in England Actor Johnny Depp jokes“When was the last time an actor assassinated a president?”

The actor Johnny Depp is the latest American entertainment figure to suggest — however jokingly, ironically or obliquely — the killing of President Trump.



Speaking on Thursday at the Glastonbury arts festival in southwest England, Mr. Depp asked the audience, “Can you bring Trump here?”



The remark was met with booing and jeering, and he continued: “You misunderstand completely. When was the last time an actor assassinated a president? I want to clarify: I’m not an actor. I lie for a living. However, it’s been awhile, and maybe it’s time.”



The words were being interpreted as an allusion to the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth, an actor, in 1865.


Mr. Depp, who was introducing a screening of the 2004 film “The Libertine” — in which he played the womanizing poet John Wilmot, second earl of Rochester — acknowledged that his words would cause a storm.



“By the way, this is going to be in the press and it’ll be horrible,” he said. “It’s just a question; I’m not insinuating anything.”



Mr. Depp’s comments immediately drew rebukes, with his critics describing them as particularly distasteful and dangerous given their timing. A gunman, believed to be upset about Mr. Trump’s election, opened fire last week at members of the Republican congressional baseball team in a Washington suburb.



“Secret Service, we have video evidence of Johnny Depp threatening to assassinate President Trump. Please do something!” an account linked to Tennessee Republicans wrote on Twitter. Others suggested a boycott of Mr. Depp’s films, although supporters countered that the remarks had clearly been made in jest.