Johnny Depp proved multitasking is alive and well Thursday when he turned a promotion of his upcoming Christmas movie, “Ebenezer,” into what seemed to be a trolling of President Donald Trump.
The actor showed up at San Diego Comic-Con dressed as Scrooge and surprised attendees by popping out of a fake storefront marked with a “Scrooge & Marley” sign.
A crowd gathered around, with many wishing him “Merry Christmas!”
Depp responded in character.
“Do you have jobs? It seems as though you have so much spare time. Why are you here?” he said, before adding, “I can only say you’re all very, very strange people. Humbug!”
At one point, Depp ripped garlands from the gates, saying, “These are poison! Keep these away from children.”
When another performer protested Depp’s in-character antics, he sneered, “That’s on my property, which means that I own it.”
He then seemed to reference Trump’s sweeping tariff programs, telling the people in attendance, “And that you’re paying tax on it being there, ’cause everybody has to pay all that stuff. Putting tariffs on the gate.”
Trump’s most recent tariffs will be double-digit levies on dozens of U.S. trading partners, citing their inadequate enforcement of bans on goods produced by forced labor.
Daniel Knighton via Getty Images
Depp has mocked Trump before, though this may be the first time he did so dressed as a Dickensian character. He did, however, portray the president in a 2016 satirical version of “Trump: The Art Of The Deal.”
Back in 2016, before Trump was elected president, Depp snarkily said the possibility of a Trump presidency was exciting “in a kind of historical way” because that means “we will see the actual last president of the United States.”
He added, “It just won’t work after that.”
In 2017, Depp jokingly asked an audience in Glastonbury, England, “When was the last time an actor assassinated a president?” to the crowd’s cheers.
He later apologized for the comment, saying he “intended no malice,” and was “only trying to amuse, not to harm anyone.”