Emily Hampshire has apologized for dressing up as Johnny Depp and Amber Heard with a friend on Halloween after criticism on social media.
The “Schitt’s Creek” star wrote in a statement on Instagram on Wednesday: “I want to address something that is one of the most thoughtless, insensitive and ignorant things I have ever done.” For Halloween, I foolishly thought it would be funny, Dressing up as Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.”
She continued: “I am deeply sorry and ashamed for bringing something so terrible into the universe. Domestic abuse is never funny. These are real problems with real people and I REALLY regret my actions. I will do better in the future. I am so sorry.”
In the now-deleted photos, Hampshire appeared to be dressed as an actor from “Pirates of the Caribbean,” with fake arm tattoos and makeup meant to resemble Depp while wearing a brown striped suit. As for her friend, it appeared to be the Aquaman actress, wearing a white button-down blouse with her back pulled back and a sad expression on her face.
The costumes appeared to represent Depp and Heard from last year’s libel trial. But fans were quick to call out Hampshire online, accusing her of mocking Heard.
From April to June 2022, Depp and Heard fought a highly publicized defamation trial in the courtroom. This came after Depp filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against Heard after she wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post in which she described herself as a domestic violence survivor. Although she never specifically mentioned the actor’s name, the story was published amid headlines about her heated divorce in 2016.
A Virginia jury ultimately awarded Depp $15 million, $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, but the latter was reduced to Virginia’s legal cap of $350,000.
The trial was also turned into a three-part documentary on Netflix, which debuted in August.