Johnny Depp, in Tokyo to promote his campy caper film Mortdecai, claimed that he was attacked by a chupacabra.

Johnny Depp And A Chupacabra

Depp missed a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday and on Wednesday felt compelled to account for his absence.  According to Depp, it wasn’t just a cold or some other minor illness that sidelined him, it was a chupacabra – a legendary wild animal said to be found in the Americas.

“I was attacked yesterday morning by a very rarely seen or experienced animal called the ‘chupacabra,'” Depp told journalists, adding, “I fought with it for hours.”

“They’re very persistent, very mean,” he said of the creatures, which are believed to suck the blood of livestock. “And I’m pretty sure it came in my suitcase.”

After the lengthy battle with the animal, Depp emerged victorious. “I threw him off the 23rd floor. So we’ll never see him again,” Depp said. “Thank you for understanding.”

Despite Depp’s elaborate retelling of his battle with a chupacabra, it really was merely a cold that kept him from the press conference, according to People magazine.