‘Schitt’s Creek’ Star Apologizes for Johnny Depp and Amber Heard Halloween Costume

Schitt’s Creek star Emily Hampshire has apologized after “stupidly” dressing up as Johnny Depp and Amber Heard with a friend this Halloween. The actress, 42, took to Instagram on Wednesday to share her regrets about her costume choice after sparking backlash on social media surrounding the domestic violence allegations made during Depp and Heard’s highly-publicized defamation trial last year.

“I want to address what is one of the most thoughtless, insensitive, and ignorant things I’ve ever done,” Hampshire wrote on Instagram after since-deleted photos of her wearing a tan-striped suit with slicked-back hair, fake tattooed and an alcohol bottle prop made the rounds on social media. “For Halloween, I stupidly thought it would be funny to dress as Johnny Depp and Amber Heard,” she continued, also referencing her friend’s costume of a blouse, wide-rim glasses and a crying face meant to depict Heard during the trial.

“I am deeply sorry and ashamed for putting something that awful out in the universe,” Hampshire wrote. “Domestic abuse is never, ever funny. These are real issues with real people and I REALLY regret my actions.” She concluded her apology with a promise, writing, “In the future I will do better. I’m so sorry.”

Hampshire’s apology garnered split reactions in the comment section. “Nope. You’re sorry due to the backlash. YOU posted it. YOU dressed up. YOU used props. YOU posed for multiple pictures,” one person wrote. “I cannot believe that you’re now sorry for any other reason only people are upset with you. If no one reacted, you wouldn’t think you did anything wrong.” Another argued, “If you were called upon to apologize, then, so two should every single person that made a meme out of that trial. Your intentions were clearly not to invalidate domestic abuse, or to minimize it.”

Depp and Heard’s defamation trial made headlines from April 2022 to June 2022 after the Pirates of the Caribbean actor sued his ex-wife for $50 million. Depp alleged that Heard had defamed him after the actress wrote in a March 2019 op-ed for The Washington Post that she had been the victim of domestic violence but did not mention her ex-husband by name. After weeks of contentious testimony, Depp was awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. The punitive damages were eventually reduced to $350,000 due to the state’s statutory cap.