Depp came up with a creative excuse for being sick while promoting Mortdecai

Johnny Depp Misses Press Conference Because ... He Was Attacked by a Chupacabra?

Johnny Depp getting mauled by a chupacabra? Sounds like a Tim Burton movie gone wrong.

But the actor really did blame his absence from a news conference in Tokyo on the mythological Latin American beast. Depp is in Japan to promote Mortdecai, an action-packed farce also starring Gwyneth Paltrow.

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“I was attacked yesterday morning by a very rarely seen or experienced animal called ‘chupacabra.’ I fought with it for hours,” Depp, 51, joked to reporters Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. “They’re very persistent, very mean. And I’m pretty sure it came into my suitcase. I threw him off the 23rd floor. So we’ll never see him again. Thank you for understanding.”

The real reason he skipped out on more than 200 journalists at Tuesday’s event isn’t quite so fantastical: He had a cold.