Warning: This article contains discussion of domestic violence which some readers may find distressing.
People are flooding to social media in concern after hearing a reference to Johnny Depp and Amber Heard in Ryan Gosling's latest movie.
The Fall Guy - starring Barbie's Ryan Gosling and IF's Emily Blunt - was released this week, however, before it even made it into theaters it'd already faced backlash online.
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Directed by David Leitch, The Fall Guy is an action-comedy which centres around Colt Seavers (Gosling), a stuntman who's just been through an accident which nearly ended his career and has subsequently taken a year out to focus on his mental and physical wellbeing.
However, when the star of a movie being directed by his ex Jody Moreno (Blunt) disappears, he's drafted in to help, despite the fearsome producer Gail Meyer's (Hannah Waddingham) best efforts to keep the star's disappearance under wraps.
And Amber Heard and Johnny Depp are unexpectedly mentioned in the movie in a comment made by Waddingham's character.
One scene in The Fall Guy is reported by The Hollywood Reporter as showing Meyer walking into a messy trailer and turning to Moreno to say: "It's like Amber and Johnny were just in here."
And it's not taken long for people to flood to social media in outrage over the line.
One X user said: "Seriously, who thought that was a good idea to put in the movie, talk about tone-deaf.
"It’s always very telling when people say 'it was just a joke'. They show exactly why we still are where we are in society, with little to no empathy for survivors/victims of domestic violence," another added.
A third commented: "Domestic violence is no joke! How can someone put something like that in a movie? Disgusting!"
"As it should be. DV is not a joke and treating it like one is sick. Everyone involved should be ashamed," a fourth added.
The comment alludes to the alleged instances of domestic violence which occurred between Depp and Heard, documented during the six-week long trial.
Depp sued his ex-wife for $50 million (£38.2 million) in a defamation lawsuit after she made domestic violence claims in a 2018 article in The Washington Post and the trial saw both actors take to the stand to testify about the others' behavior during their four-year relationship.
Depp won the case and was awarded $15 million in damages and Heard, despite losing her case, was awarded $2 million by the jury.
UNILAD has contacted The Fall Guy's distributors, Universal Pictures, for comment.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, please know that you are not alone. You can talk in confidence 24 hours a day to the national domestic violence helpline on 1.800.799.SAFE (7233) 24/7. You can find a list of local resources here.
Topics: Amber Heard, Emily Blunt, Film and TV, Johnny Depp, Ryan Gosling, Social Media, Twitter
Poppy Bilderbeck