Gone to the dogs in Australia: Johnny Depp and Amber Heard apology video gets mocked

US actor Johnny Depp (right) and his wife US actress Amber Heard leave the Southport Magistrates Court in Southport, on the Gold Coast, Australia on April 18, 2016. PHOTO: EPA

Pirates Of The Caribbean actor Johnny Depp and his wife Amber Heard narrowly escaped a conviction for bringing their dogs illegally into Australia.

The saga began on April 21, 2015, when Heard flew into Queensland on a private jet with her Yorkshire terriers Pistol and Boo.

The actress was visiting Depp, who was in Australia for the filming of Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

She said had wrongly ticked a box on her passenger arrival card declaring she had no animals with her when she arrived in Australia.

She was originally charged with two counts of illegally bringing in her pets, and one count of producing false documents.

She pleaded guilty to the falsification of documents charge on Monday (April 18). The Australian court let her off with a good behaviour bond, a formal order to avoid trouble for a month or face a A$1,000 (S$1,041) fine.

The celebrity couple also recorded an apology in a video recording which was submitted to court.

In the video, Depp says with a straight face: "When you disrespect Australian law, they will tell you firmly."

The video has gone viral, with news agency Daily Beast calling it "sarcastic" and the BBC deeming it "bizarre".

Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, who as the Agriculture Minister had harsh words for the couple when the incident occurred, weighed in on the apology video.

According to CNN, Mr Joyce told Australian news agency ABC that Depp "looked like he was auditioning for The Godfather" in the video. Mr Joyce however does not "think he'll get an Academy Award for his performance".

In an interview with CNN affiliate Channel 7's, Mr Joyce advised the Oscar-nominated actor to "do it again" with "a little gusto".

We look at six reactions to the apology video made public by the Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources.

1. Ricky Gervais

The English comedian likened it to a "hostage video".

2. Stephen Colbert

The American comedian and talkshow host introduced his parody of the video on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Tuesday.

In the video, he called Australia a "proud island of exiled British degenerates" before seeking Australia's forgiveness at the end of the episode.

3. Mark Doman

The digital producer at ABC news face swopped Depp and Heard's faces. A recent trend on Snapchat, face swopping involves switching the faces of two people.

4. Adam Liaw

The food columnist for The Guardian joked about the highly theatrical nature of Depp's apology.

5. Mark Di Stefano

The BuzzFeed political editor ranked the apology video as Depp's second worst film performance.

6. The Relevant Organs

Political parody group The Relevant Organs said it preferred "penitent weeping" over the sombre apology

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