Australia's Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce has said that he is "pulling strings" in Johnny Depp's head, like film villain Hannibal Lecter.
It comes after the actor said on a US television show that Mr Joyce looks "somehow inbred with a tomato".
Depp's wife Amber Heard avoided a conviction in court last month after illegally bringing two dogs into Australia.
But the couple were made to issue an unusual video apology.