Schitt's Creek star Emily Hampshire has apologized for dressing as warring exes Johnny Depp and Amber Heard for Halloween, calling the costume one of the 'most thoughtless, insensitive, and ignorant things' she had ever done.
Hampshire, 42, and a friend dressed as the former couple on Tuesday evening, but the costume quickly offended numerous fans, and the actress issued a statement apologizing for the slammed costume on Wednesday.
'I want to address what is one of the most thoughtless, insensitive, and ignorant things I've ever done. For Halloween, I stupidly thought it would be funny to dress as Johnny Depp and Amber Heard,' she posted to her Instagram.
'I am deeply sorry and ashamed for putting something that awful out in the universe. Domestic abuse is never, ever funny,' she continued. 'These are real issues with real people and I REALLY regret my actions. In the future I will do better. I'm sorry.'
The original costume included various props that referenced the brutal defamation trial that took place last year - including a plastic turd that was tucked into Emily's suit.
Apology: Schitt's Creek star Emily Hampshire has apologized for dressing as warring exes Johnny Depp and Amber Heard for Halloween, calling the costume one of the 'most thoughtless, insensitive, and ignorant things' she had ever done
Issuing a statement: Hampshire posted this apology statement a day after facing backlash
Emily went as Johnny complete with a drawn mustache, tattoos, and slicked back hair while her friend dressed as an anguished Amber.
She held a bottle of wine and tucked the 'turd' into her suit jacket as she sat beside 'Amber', who pulled various crying faces.
While the images - which were captioned 'Happy Halloween' with two jack-o-lantern emojis - were ultimately removed from her account, the posts were screen grabbed by offended viewers who shared them with others on social media.
'It really is a special kind of depraved to keep the costumes going a full year and a half later. @emilyhampshire clearly felt the need to rise to the task,' one angered X user posted to the social media site, along with images of the costumes.
Another disappointed X user re-posted the images as she expressed her disappointment.
'This is so beyond disappointing to see from @emilyhampshire. words can't articulate how let down and disgusted i feel,' they wrote.
The backlash continued on the social media site Reddit.
'Wow. This is obviously in poor taste but, the wine bottle prop? Gross', one Reddit user wrote.
'Well this is insanely disappointing. Also, even if it weren’t offensive, this costume is so late to the party,' another wrote.
Schitt's Creek star: Hampshire, pictured second on the far R in the suit, played Stevie Budd on the hit series
Offended fans: Hampshire clutched a bottle of wine as she sat beside an emotional-looking 'Amber' in photos that upset fans
Scandalous: The costumes made various references to the brutal defamation lawsuit which took place last year between the former couple
Gross! She referenced the courtroom drama by tucking a plastic turd into her suit pocket
Disappointed: Fans vented their frustrations over the image on social media
Courtroom drama: Depp sued Heard for a 2018 Washington Post article she wrote about being abused, which his lawyers said was about Johnny
Sensational trial: The trial captured the public's attention and Netflix has even released a documentary, Depp v Heard, about it
'So yuck. Apparently it was up for about 10 mins, indicates to me the comments were immediately negative. I didn't realise she was so stupid that she'd 1) choose this costume in the first place 2) think her audience would let this go. I don't remember if she liked anything during the trial but this is a shock to me... Lost all respect for her,' another wrote.
'What an absolutely reprehensible person. Good luck with her flop career,' said one Reddit user.
Another wrote: 'Thinking this costume is funny is sick. Thinking this costume is funny in 2023 is psycho.'
In 2016, Amber, 36, famously accused Johnny of domestic violence and the actor lost a libel case in the UK after he sued The Sun for calling him a 'wife beater.'
The public's attention was also captured after Depp sued Heard for a 2018 Washington Post article she wrote about being abused, which his lawyers said was about Johnny.
The trial was highly publicised at the time and the jury reached a verdict that largely sided with Johnny, though Amber won one of her three counterclaims.
In December 2022, Amber said in a statement posted to Instagram that she had made the 'very difficult decision' to reach a settlement in the case.
The trial became a sensation and was the subject of a Netflix documentary, Depp v. Heard.
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