'Schitt's Creek' star Emily Hampshire apologises for Johnny Depp, Amber Heard Halloween costume

LOS ANGELES: 'Schitt's Creek' actress Emily Hampshire, who played Stevie Budd in the award-winning sitcom, is apologising after receiving backlash for dressing up with a friend as Johnny Depp and Amber Heard for Halloween.

Hampshire dressed as Depp with fake tattoos, a drawn-on mustache and slicked-back hair holding a bottle of wine, while her friend impersonated a crying Heard, reports 'Deadline'.

She posted the photo on Instagram, captioned "Happy Halloween" flanked by two pumpkins, which she since has deleted amid a torrent of criticism on social media.

She replaced the post with her apology.

"I want to address what is one of the most thoughtless, insensitive, and ignorant things I've ever done," Hampshire wrote.

"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."

She added: "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."

A Virginia jury awarded Depp $15 million in damages against Heard over the 2018 op-ed she wrote for 'The Washington Post' that claimed she was a victim of domestic abuse.

The civil jury later added $2 million in damages to Heard in her counterclaim. Depp had sought $50 million in damages, and Heard countersued for $100 million. Heard appealed, but the former married couple eventually reached a settlement in the case.