Johnny Depp and Amber Heard joke in Ryan Gosling’s “The Fall Guy” upsets some critics and fans

Just two weeks before its May 2nd release, Ryan Gosling's new action-comedy, “The Fall Guy” is facing criticism in early screenings, with some viewers objecting to a reference made about Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.

The action-comedy, which also stars Emily Blunt and boasts a high-profile cast, features a scene where Hannah Waddingham's character walks into a trashed trailer and remarks, “It's like Amber and Johnny were just in here.”

Some social media users and critics slammed the line calling it "unpleasant" and disrespectful to a sensitive topic like domestic violence.

One journalist wrote on X, “The Fall Guy was just kind of cringe and smug until the weird j*hnny and a*ber joke, then it was unpleasant. 2024 and we're putting [domestic violence] jokes into our action comedies I guess!”

Courtesy: @thethirdhan on X

In response, another viewer stated, “God that took me out of the movie so badly when I watched it, there was truly no reason whatsoever to say it. Embarrassing for everyone involved.”

Courtesy: @anapau_villa on X

Some Amber Heard fans have even expressed intentions to “boycott” the film.

Courtesy: @heardsstan on X

Courtesy: @ScarlettSavage6 on X

Depp and Heard were married for two years, between 2015 and 2017, and have been embroiled in a series of high-profile court cases. 

In 2020, Depp lost a libel lawsuit against The Sun – a British tabloid that called him a "wife-beater." In 2022, Depp successfully sued Heard for defamation over an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post alluding to abuse.