The upcoming action-comedy film ‘The Fall Guy,’ starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, is facing criticism even before its theatrical release this Friday.
The controversy stems from a line of dialogue that makes a reference to the tumultuous relationship between actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. In the scene, Hannah Waddingham’s character, an executive producer named Gail Meyer, walks into a trailer looking disheveled and tells director Jody Moreno (played by Blunt), “It’s like Amber and Johnny were just in here.”
Some viewers have taken to social media to condemn the line, calling it a “distasteful joke” about the domestic abuse allegations between Depp and Heard. One user questioned why such lines referencing domestic violence are still being written into movies in 2024.
Depp and Heard’s highly publicized defamation trial in 2022 reignited public interest in their volatile marriage, which ended in divorce in 2017 amid accusations of domestic abuse from both sides.
While some find the line in ‘The Fall Guy’ insensitive, others argue it is simply a reflection of the ongoing public discourse surrounding the Depp-Heard saga.
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to Universal Pictures, the film’s distributor, for comment on the controversy. As ‘The Fall Guy’ prepares for its theatrical debut, the backlash over this particular line of dialogue has put the spotlight on the movie’s content and the broader issue of how domestic violence is portrayed in popular media.