According to Variety, Emily Hampshire (12 Monkeys, Cosmopolis), who is well-known for playing Stevie Budd in Schitt’s Creek, made post on Instagram in celebration of Halloween. In this picture, which has since been deleted, she and her friend were dressed up as Johnny Depp (Edward Scissorhands, Pirates of the Caribbean) and Amber Heard (Aquaman, Zombieland). After receiving backlash for this costume, she made another post publicly apologizing.
As Variety notes, Hampshire’s costume consisted of suit that was similar to one Depp wore during the Depp v. Heard trial. She also drew on tattoos similar to Depp’s. In the image, she was holding a wine bottle while her friend dressed as Amber Heard made a crying face.
In Hampshire’s apology post on Instagram, she first stated, “I want to address what is one of the most thoughtless, insensitive, and ignorant things I’ve ever done.”
She continued, “For Halloween, I stupidly thought it would be funny to dress as Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. I am deeply sorry and ashamed for putting something that awful out in the universe.”
Hampshire ended her post by stating, “Domestic abuse is never, ever funny. These are real issues with real people and I REALLY regret my actions. In the future I will do better. I’m so sorry.”
Hampshire posted the same statement on her Twitter. The comment sections of both Instagram and Twitter are divided with some individuals accepting her apology, some stating that she should apologize further, and others believing an apology was not needed. Her Instagram post as well as the comment section can be viewed below.
The Depp v. Heard trial began in 2022 after Depp filed a lawsuit against Heard, who claimed Depp had allegedly been violent with her during their relationship. According to Deadline, once the trial concluded, Depp received fifteen million dollars in compensation for damages and Heard received two million dollars.