On Grammys red carpet, actor equates Australia with one thing: the minister and his threat to put down his dogs over an alleged quarantine violation

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Johnny Depp has cited Barnaby Joyce – the Australian politician who threatened to put down the Hollywood star’s dogs Pistol and Boo – as a reason for him to return to Australia one day.

Proving that the incoming deputy prime minister still looms large in the mind of the actor, Depp joked that Joyce had invited him to stay at his house “for some reason”.

Barnaby Joyce, the man who threatened Johnny Depp's dogs, voted deputy PM Read more

Depp made the off-the-cuff remark to reporter Emma Dallimore on the Grammys red carpet, nine months after the biosecurity drama in which the agriculture minister told him: “It’s time that Pistol and Boo buggered off back to the United States.”



7 News Perth (@7NewsPerth) "He invited me to stay at his house" - Johnny Depp spoke to 7 News about Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce.https://t.co/4kstt1OreF

Their exchange in full:

Dallimore: “Do you still love us in Australia?”

Depp: “Of course, I love Australia.”

“Are you going to come back?”

“Absolutely, [indistinct] ... I think that guy Barnaby? He invited me to stay at his house, for some reason.”

Joyce’s office has been contacted for comment.

In April 2015, Depp was accused of failing to declare his two Yorkshire terriers when he flew into Australia on his private jet to film the fifth instalment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

Joyce took a firm stance on the biosecurity hazards of this move, earning himself the Froggatt award for principled decision making by the Invasive Species Council in the process.

Depp was less impressed, referring to Joyce in September as “some kind of sweaty, big-gutted man from Australia”.

Pistol and Boo were spirited to safety hours before the deadline set by Joyce, but Depp’s wife Amber Heard still faces charges relating to breaches of quarantine laws. The case has been set down for a four-day trial in Queensland on 18 April.