Drew Barrymore apologises for comments about Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial

‘This can be a teachable moment for me,’ said the actor in response to backlash

Drew Barrymore has apologised for “making light” of Johnny Depp’s defamation trial against ex-partner Amber Heard.

Heard is being sued by Depp for $50m (£38.2m). He alleges that Heard implied that he abused her in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed about domestic violence.

Barrymore previously spoke about the highly publicised trial during an episode of her talk show The Drew Barrymore Show.

The actor said of the trial: “It’s like one layer of crazy, it’s a seven-layer dip of insanity. 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.

“I understand all the feelings, but they are actually offering up this information that nobody had to know. This is crazy!”

Many viewers, however, criticised Barrymore’s comments as “insensitive” given the circumstances of the ongoing trial.

The ET actor has since apologised for her remarks on Instagram.

“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 apologise 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.

Barrymore said that “all I want to do is be a good person”.

“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 said.

“And I thank everyone helping me grow along the way and teaching me. Thank you.”

The trial in question is well underway in Fairfax County, Virginia. 

In the latest development, Heard fired her PR team on Thursday (28 April) over a slew of recent “bad headlines”.

On Sunday (1 May), it was reported that Heard had terminated her working relationship with crisis PR firm Precision Strategies last week.

A petition to remove Heard from the forthcoming DC Aquaman sequel has reached three million signatures.

You can follow along with The Independent’s live-blog of the trial here.