White House officials call on Hollywood to turn on Johnny Depp for assassination joke

U.S. leader Donald Trump's aides are calling for Hollywood stars to rise up and attack Johnny Depp for joking about assassinating the President at a British festival.

The actor stirred up controversy on Thursday night (22Jun17) at Glastonbury in England, while he was introducing a screening of his 2004 movie The Libertine.

He said, "Can we bring Trump here (to Glastonbury)? I think (Donald) Trump needs help. There are a lot of dark places he could go."

Knowing his comments would land him in trouble, Depp added, "When was the last time an actor assassinated a president?" before joking, "I'm not an actor. I lie for a living (but) it's been a while. Maybe it's about time."

On Friday (23Jun17) a White House spokesperson called on Hollywood to target the Pirates of the Caribbean star for his remarks.

A statement from the White House reads: "I hope that some of Mr. Depp's colleagues will speak out against this type of rhetoric."