Yahoo Finance Drew Barrymore Apologizes For 'Making Light' Of Amber Heard And Johnny Depp Trial
Drew Barrymore has apologized for “making light” of the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial after receiving backlash over a recent discussion on her daytime talk show.
The actor addressed the backlash to a conversation on “The Drew Barrymore Show” in a video posted on Instagram Sunday, expressing her regret over the segment, which viewers criticized as insensitive given the domestic abuse allegations at the center of the case.
“It has come to my attention that I have offended people with making light of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard and for that I just want to deeply apologize and appreciate everyone who spoke out because this can be a teachable moment for me and how I move forward and how I conduct myself,” she said.
“I can be a more thoughtful and better person moving forward because all I want to do is be a good person and I very much appreciate the depth of this and I will grow and change from it,” she added.
Barrymore concluded her video message by thanking viewers for “helping me grow along the way” and “teaching me.”
In a sit-down with guest Anthony Anderson on the show last week, the pair gleefully discussed the “insanity” of Depp and Heard’s ongoing defamation trial.
“It’s like one layer of crazy, it’s a seven-layer dip of insanity,” Barrymore, barely containing her laughter, told Anderson, who went on to mock some of the more sensational details of the case, including Depp writing on walls with his own blood after an alleged altercation with Heard.
“I know that these are two people’s real lives and I know what it’s like to have your life put out in public,” she added. “I understand all the feelings, but they are actually offering up this information.”
"This can be a teachable moment for me and how I move forward and how I conduct myself," Drew Barrymore said in an apology video posted to Instagram. (Photo: via Associated Press)
Barrymore’s segment quickly made the internet rounds last week, with fans criticizing the talk show host’s flippant remarks given the sensitive circumstances surrounding the case. Others noted that Anderson himself has been accused of sexual assault multiple times. The “Black-ish” star has denied all allegations, and the Los Angeles district attorney dropped the most recent case against the actor in 2018 over a lack of evidence.
“I officially lost respect for Drew Barrymore. It sucks because she was one of my favorite actresses growing up but the way she made fun of Johnny Depp/Amber Heard situation is just poor taste,” one disappointed fan wrote on Twitter shortly before Barrymore’s apology video went live. “It sucks because I thought she was a good person. I hope she apologizes.”
The “Pirates of the Caribbean” star is suing his ex-wife for defamation and seeking $50 million in damages over a 2018 opinion piece she wrote for The Washington Post, in which she referred to herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse,” though she never mentioned Depp by name.
Heard, who is countersuing Depp for $100 million, has accused the actor of physically and sexually assaulting her on multiple occasions during their brief marriage. Depp, meanwhile, has also claimed he was the victim of spousal abuse. Both have denied each other’s claims.
Heard and Depp’s trial, which is streaming live on the internet per a request from the latter star’s legal team, has drawn plenty of responses from celebrities over the pair’s mutual allegations of abuse against each other.
The defamation trial is expected to conclude sometime this month, with Heard set to testify in her own defense later this week.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
