Actor Johnny Depp on Friday apologized for joking about President Donald Trump being assassinated while speaking to a music festival audience.

The “Pirates of the Caribbean” star made the comments late Thursday at the Glastonbury Festival in southwest England, telling the crowd it had “been a while” since an actor had assassinated a president.

The White House had strongly condemned the statement.

“President Trump has condemned violence in all forms and it’s sad that others like Johnny Depp have not followed his lead,” said Trump’s spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

“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.”

In a statement to celebrity magazine People, the 54-year-old apologized over the incident saying his words “did not come out as intended, and I intended no malice.”

“I was only trying to amuse, not to harm anyone,” he added.

The actor was answering questions from the 1,500-strong audience when he made the statement.

“I think he needs help and there are a lot of wonderful dark, dark places he could go,” Depp said when asked about Trump.

“When was the last time an actor assassinated a president? I want to qualify, I am not an actor. I lie for a living.

“However, it has been a while and maybe it is time,” Depp added.

Azeez