‘Schitt’s Creek’ Star Emily Hampshire Apologizes for Johnny Depp-Amber Heard Halloween Costume: ‘Thoughtless, Insensitive and Ignorant’

Emily Hampshire, the actor best known for playing Stevie Budd on all six seasons of the Emmy-winning comedy series “Schitt’s Creek,” has issued an apology for dressing up with a friend as Johnny Depp and Amber Heard for Halloween.

Hampshire posted and then deleted photos of the costumes, which ignited outrage on social media. The actor sported fake tattoos as Depp and appeared to wear a suit that closely resembled one that the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star wore during his highly-publicized 2022 libel trial against Heard.

“I want to address what is one of the most thoughtless, insensitive, and ignorant things I’ve ever done,” Hampshire wrote in an apology post. “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.”

“Domestic abuse is never, ever funny,” Hampshire added. “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’s costume choice received widespread backlash for making light of abuse, as the Depp-Heard trial was centered around several instances of alleged abuse that took place during the two actors’ relationship.

A Virginia jury found that Heard did defame Johnny Depp when she wrote a 2018 Washington Post op-ed alluding to her past claims of domestic violence. However, the jury also found that Depp defamed Heard, through his attorney, in the course of fighting back against her charges. The jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages, plus $5 million in punitive damages — which the judge reduced to $350,000 in accordance with the state’s statutory cap. The jury awarded Heard $2 million in compensatory damages for her counterclaim.

In a statement after the verdict, Depp said that Heard’s false claims had “a seismic impact on my life and my career. And six years later, the jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled.” Depp added that he “overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and the colossal support and kindness from around the world,” and that the verdict left him “at peace.”

Heard has largely stayed out of the spotlight in the aftermath of the libel trial, which ended in June 2022. Depp, meanwhile, mounted a highly-publicized comeback earlier this year when he attended the Cannes Film Festival.

Read Hampshire’s full apology in the post below.