Johnny Depp has made a masterful, deeply sarcastic apology for smuggling his pet dogs into Australia
Johnny Depp and his wife, Amber Heard, have pleaded guilty in court for making a false statement on immigration card about the couple’s Yorkshire terriers.
Australian authorities have released an unusual video apology from the couple. In the video, they apologized to Australia for sneaking their pet dogs into the country last year — an act for which Heard pleaded guilty on Monday.
But the Queensland judge gave her a one-month good behaviour bond with no conviction recorded. If she breaks the bond she must pay A$1,000 ($770; £540).
Amber Heard was charged with providing a false immigration document, The Associated Press reports; there was no admissible evidence against Depp. Heard had faced up to 10 years behind bars, but will not be serving any time.
The two Yorkshire terriers at the heart of the conflict were brought into Australia on a private jet while Depp was filming the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean movie, as we reported at the time.
“Australia is free of many pests and disease that are commonplace around the world. That is why Australia has to have such strict biosecurity laws,” she says in the video, sounding less than entirely natural.
The above video was presented to the court as an apology from the couple; Joyce told ABC News that he hopes it also serves as a warning to future travelers to Australia: “The more widely viewed it is the more we have people who might be unaware of our biosecurity requirements and, as they come into this nation, they say this is one thing that the Australians are red hot about, biosecurity.”
The awkward 20-second video featuring a somewhat upbeat Heard and a grim Depp left many viewers unconvinced, saying it was Depp’s ‘best acting performance’ to date and even incited a sarcastic comment from comedian Ricky Gervais.
‘The Johnny Depp apology feels like a hostage video,’ he tweeted on Monday as hundreds flocked online to agree with him.
