The Johnny Depp joke that should’ve been cut from The Fall Guy

Johnny Depp is the center of a joke in David Leitch’s The Fall Guy — but what is the joke and why do people think it should have been cut?

Given that its premise is lifted straight from the 1980s TV show of the same name, it could be argued that The Fall Guy should be a movie that does exactly what it says on the tin.

One of the most hyped films of 2024, the story follows stuntman Colt (Ryan Gosling) as he tries to win back camera operator-turned-director Jody (Emily Blunt) after a life-changing accident pushed the pair apart.

However, there’s an unseen twist in The Fall Guy in the form of a joke surrounding divisive actor Johnny Depp. But what is the joke and why do people think it should have been cut? Warning: spoilers ahead!

What Johnny Depp joke is in The Fall Guy?

In The Fall Guy, Gail (Hannah Waddingham) jokes that Jody’s trailer “looks like Johnny and Amber have been in here” after a fight.

Universal Pictures

When Colt is brought to Australia to work on Jody’s film in The Fall Guy, he learns that leading man Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) has gone missing after falling in with the wrong crowd.

Led on a wild goose chase to try and get him back, Colt finds Tom’s phone which has video footage of him accidentally killing his previous stunt guy who Colt was brought in to replace. Unbeknownst to him, Gail was helping Tom to clear his name by having Colt work on the film, deepfaking his face onto Tom in the incriminating video and releasing it into the world.

Falsely accused of murder, Colt manages to sneak back onto set to see Jody, who believes that Gail has sent him back to the US. Entering her trailer in an alien costume, the pair have an epic fight before Colt can reveal who he is, leaving the trailer in tatters. Hiding Colt when Gail knocks on the door, Jody lets her into the wrecked trailer, leading Gail to remark that “it looks like Johnny and Amber have been in here.”

There is no prior or follow-up context for the remark.

Why should the joke have been cut?

After reports on social media of the Johnny and Amber joke first surfaced, fans quickly claimed that joking about the 2022 domestic abuse allegations was insensitive and unnecessary.

Universal Pictures

Even before the movie’s release the joke has been hotly contested, with one viewer tweeting: “The Fall Guy: was just kind of cringe and smug until the weird J*hnny and A*ber joke, then it was unpleasant.”

Fans shared their outrage after the context of the joke was explained, with one weighing in: “The Fall Guy made a distasteful ‘joke’ about the domestic abuse Amber suffered at the hands of Johnny. it’s 2024, why are we writing these kinds of lines into movies? Nasty work.”

“The fact the joke is just ‘it looks like a room where domestic violence occurred’ is kind of bonkers,” a second agreed. “Jesus how does that even get filmed without anyone objecting,” a third fan added. Other tweets pointed out that Gosling served as an executive producer of the movie.

Social media posts are now calling for a boycott of The Fall Guy as a result, which is due to be released globally in cinemas on May 2, 2024.

What happened in the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard trial?

A 2022 trial ruled on allegations of defamation between formerly married actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. In the early stages of their divorce proceedings, Heard claimed that Depp had abused her physically, which he denied.

The highly-publicized trial took place between April 11 and June 1, 2022, with Depp as the plaintiff filing a complaint of defamation against Heard claiming $50 million in damages. Heard then filed counterclaims against Depp claiming $100 million in damages.

Depp and Heard’s trial centered on an op-ed written by Heard in 2018 for The Washington Post, which referenced both sexual violence and domestic abuse. Depp claimed that these allegations were not only false but defamed him with malice. Depp was later awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages from Heard, though the latter was reduced to $350,000 due to limits imposed by Virginia state law.

However, the court also ruled that Depp defamed Heard through Adam Waldman, his former lawyer, who falsely alleged Heard’s actions in statements made to the press in 2020. Heard was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages but nothing in punitive damages from Depp.

Both sides appealed the verdict after the trial but each was unsuccessful. In December 2022, both parties reached a settlement and dropped their appeals.

The trial was live-streamed during 2022, contributing to mass social media movements around the world, including #MeToo.

Find even more amazing movies, TV shows, true crime documentaries, and K-dramas to stream this month.