Johnny Depp slurred his words, swayed and scratched his head as he introduced the winner of the Best Documentary prize at the Hollywood Film Awards show Friday night.
Depp's appearance came late in the CBS broadcast. Host Queen Latifah had mentioned earlier in the evening that the stars were being plied with liquor throughout the ceremony and Depp's behavior suggested the emcee was not joking about the availability of alcoholic beverages.
"I'm not really good at this kind of thing," Depp warned the audience before introducing the famous talent manager who is the subject of Mike Myers' film Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon.
Looking disheveled, Depp fidgeted with the microphone stand and chuckled before announcing, "Watch, I'm going to read this thing!" referring to the teleprompter.
Depp then read the script, lauding Gordon as "one of the most beloved and respected talent managers in the music industry," but the actor stumbled frequently during his delivery. Much of what he said was also bleeped out by network censors, while Gordon sat in the audience and laughed.
Depp appeared to get lost when he went off script at another point, saying: "I have been very, very -- eh -- lucky to have him in my life. He is somebody I consider a great friend. Somebody, yeah. An incredibly loyal, loyal friend. And, so, you have to watch the film. Yeah, there you go!"
Squinting at the autocue, Depp then wondered, "What does it say?" before his next words were bleeped out again and he covered his mouth. As a clip from the film began to roll, Depp concluded, "I mean, it's one of those nights."