The ‘tempestuous’ relationship between Pirates of the Caribbean Star Johnny Depp and his former partner Amber Heard was hit by yet another maelstrom of drama this week, with the  ‘tide’ of public opinion seemingly to be turning on Aquaman star.

A number of Calls were made for Heard to be dropped from her role in the DC franchise, (See Josh’s article on the online petition ) in the same way Depp, was dropped by Disney from his role as Jack Sparrow, after an audio clip emerged in which she seemingly admits to hitting her ex partner.

A revelation made more shockingly ironic by the fact that Heard herself had previously accused the Edward Scissorhands and Sweeney Todd star of physical  and emotional violence toward her, going to the extent of taking out a restraining order against him. Not to mention the fact that someone named Heard being undone by an audio recording has a certain amount of comedy to it.

This new piece of evidence has been seen by some as role reversing, leading fans to paint Depp (a prolific actor in the horror genre who famously made one his earliest appearances in A Nightmare on Elm Street), as the victim rather than the villain in this dynamic, with many pointing out the media’s supposed hypocrisy and seemingly trigger happy willingness to paint Depp as the villain when the accusations against him first emerged.

However, with evidence such as photographs of Heard with a bruised face and videos allegedly showing Depp throwing around wine bottles having already entered the public sphere, it seems doubtful that this tape will represent a full vindication for the Ninth Gate actor.

There are also concerns that on the back of this tape’s release, Heard, who previously wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post bemoaning the backlash against ‘women who speak out may now have damaged the very cause she seemed to be advocating for.

Whatever the truth of this relationship may be, one thing that is clear is that violence in any form against a partner is not to be tolerated and should be reported to the relevant authorities at the very first instance.  

Let’s keep the violence on screen where it belongs.