Sam Fender has said he is "deeply sorry" for taking to Instagram to post a photo of himself with Johnny Depp in a UK pub and for going on to describe the actor as a "hero".
On Wednesday, June 1, a seven-person jury awarded Depp $15 million after deciding Amber Heard had defamed him in all three counts of his lawsuit against her.
That same day, British singer-songwriter, Fender, dubbed the actor a "hero" in a group selfie, which he soon deleted from his story.
In the shot, the 28-year-old 'Seventeen Going Under' singer was seen with 58-year-old Depp, 77-year-old musician Jeff Beck, and a couple others at The Bridge Tavern in Newcastle, where Depp and Beck later performed at a concert.
He captioned the image: "Some serious heroes."
In another post to his story, Fender addressed the picture, describing the message as "naive and disrespectful".
He wrote: “I want to apologize. I was invited to briefly meet a musical legend and an actor who has been in almost every film I’ve watched growing up. I went – we chatted music and without thinking I took a photo and posted it as it was pretty surreal.
"Using the word 'heroes' was meant in reference to their careers, but in the context of the trial was severely misinformed. I now realise that it was a poor choice of words and timing, but that's irrelevant.
"It was naive and disrespectful to those who relate to any of the issues highlighted in the trial and the broader issues it poses. I didn't think it through and I should have. I can't really say anything other than that it was ill-judged and I was ignorant with regards to the trials as a whole, and thoughtless on what my post could imply."
Concluding his post, he wrote: "I realize this entirely and for that I am deeply sorry. Sam."
Depp had sued 36-year-old Heard after the actress described herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse" in an op-ed published by The Washington Post in 2018.
Heard did win one count of her counterclaim as a result of Depp's lawyer referring to her abuse allegations against the actor as a hoax. She was awarded $2 million.
She owes Depp $8.35 after a jury decided she had defamed her former husband in all three counts of his lawsuit against her.