[Video] ‘Day Drinker’ Star Johnny Depp Starts Eating Fake Hedge at Las Vegas Party

Johnny Depp has never exactly been known for playing it safe in public. Whether on screen or off, the actor has built a reputation over decades for leaning into the unexpected rather than shying away from it.

That reputation was on full display once again this weekend, when Depp turned a routine photo opportunity into one of the stranger viral clips to come out of Las Vegas in recent memory. The moment quickly made its way across social media, racking up attention almost immediately.

While attending Drink Las Vegas, a four-day food and beverage festival spread across multiple hotels, Depp stopped for photos at Park MGM and ended up biting into the decorative foliage behind him. Footage of the moment shows him tearing a leaf off the backdrop with his teeth, holding it in his mouth for the cameras, then spitting it out before going back for an even bigger bite.

Johnny Depp is known for never blending into the background … but at Drink Vegas at Park MGM, he literally started eating it.

🎥 Instagram / @jpasc24 pic.twitter.com/hqrhOtGszC

— TMZ (@TMZ) September 26, 2026

On his second attempt, Depp bit off an entire stem with several leaves attached and posed with the greenery dangling from his mouth while raising a toast for photographers. The hedge itself was artificial, meaning no actual plants were harmed during the stunt.

Depp leaned fully into the eccentric energy of the moment with his outfit choice, wearing a black waistcoat, a cowboy hat, and orange-tinted sunglasses, paired with a loose bandana and rings stacked across nearly every finger. By most accounts, the whole scene came across as harmless fun rather than anything concerning, with Depp appearing to be in good spirits throughout the appearance.

The timing of the moment lines up closely with his current professional projects. Depp attended the event as part of promotion tied to his rum brand, Three Hearts, and the appearance also comes just as the first trailer dropped for his upcoming film ‘Day Drinker.’

Depp wasn’t the only notable name at the multi-hotel festival either. Drink Las Vegas also welcomed Shaquille O’Neal and Sammy Hagar, both of whom appeared at the event’s opening ceremonies earlier in the week.

Beyond the leaf-chomping antics, there’s been separate buzz swirling around Depp’s future in one of his most iconic franchise roles. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer recently teased a potential return for the actor to the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ franchise, a possibility that has fans speculating about what shape that comeback might take.

According to separate reporting, insiders have suggested any sixth installment in the franchise would center on Margot Robbie’s character as the lead protagonist, with Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow potentially returning in a supporting capacity rather than as the central figure. Nothing has been officially confirmed on that front, but the timing of the rumors alongside this weekend’s viral moment has kept Depp firmly in the entertainment conversation.

For an actor whose off-screen persona has often blurred with his most famous on-screen characters, biting into a fake hedge for laughs fits comfortably within the larger Depp mythology. It’s the kind of moment that could easily read as staged eccentricity from anyone else, but from Depp, it lands as just another Saturday night.

Whether this clip ages into a footnote or becomes another entry in his long list of unpredictable public appearances, it’s clearly resonating with audiences right now. The internet, as usual, has plenty of jokes ready to go.

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