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Actor Johnny Depp Disavows Anti-American Quotes
Denying any anti-American sentiment on his part, actor Johnny Depp said on Thursday that quotes attributed to him as likening the United States to a "dumb puppy" were inaccurate and taken out of context. "I am an American. "
Not so loud!
"I love my country and have great hopes for it," Depp said in a statement released by his Los Angeles-based publicist. "It is for this reason that I speak candidly and sometimes critically about it. I have benefited greatly from the freedom that exists in my country and for this I am eternally grateful."
"I mean, where else could I act like such an idiot?"
Depp, currently starring in the swashbuckling film "Pirates of the Caribbean," issued the statement a day after the German news magazine Stern published an interview in which he ridiculed Washington’s confrontation with France, where he lives, over the U.S. war in Iraq. The magazine quoted the actor as saying "America is ... like a dumb puppy that has big teeth that can bite and hurt you, aggressive." He was further quoted as saying he wanted his children to "see America as ... a broken toy" that they should explore, get the feel of, then "get out." Explaining his comments a day later as if he could, Depp he had been using a metaphor that was taken "radically out of context," adding, "There was no anti-American sentiment."
"Please don’t stop seeing my movies! I might have to get a job tending bar, and you know how hard it is to get a job in France?"
"What I was saying was that, compared to Europe, America is a very young country and we are still growing as a nation," he said. "My deepest apologies to those who were offended, affected, or hurt by this insanely twisted deformation of my words and intent." His spokeswoman added that the Kentucky-born Depp, 40, lives in the south of France with his family because his wife, actress-singer Vanessa Paradis, is French.
Ah well, his publicist certainly sounds contrite. Do we let him off the hook?

I'd say not, not that it's up to me. He sounds like a contemptible creature — though maybe he's just stoopid.

I take issue with the repetition of the duck (that's American for "canard") that the U.S.A. is a "young" country. Papua-New Guineau is a young nation. Kenya's a young nation. Pakistan is a young nation. America's underlying culture is English — we used to be English, y'know. As a nation, we've been around since 1776, when we declared independence, or since 1787, when the Constitution was drafted, take your pick. That's longer than Germany and Italy have been unified countries, longer than Greece has been a nation in its latest iteration. Our government's certainly been around longer than the latest French or Russian experiments. Admittedly, we haven't been in existence as long as the Holy Roman Empire was around, but the Holy Roman Empire is dead. So if emerging nations like France would like advice on how to conduct their affairs of their government, all they have to do is ask. We'll be happy to give them advice.

Posted by: Steve White 2003-09-05
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=18335