After Johnny Depp won his libel case against his ex-wife, Amber Heard, a large number of people are concerned for the future of domestic abuse survivors.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star, 58, was awarded compensatory damages of $10million (£8 million) and a further $5 million (£4 million) in punitive damages by a jury yesterday.
The jury ruled that Amber's op-ed article, titled 'I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change', for the Washington Post about domestic violence had been defamatory.
Now there are many people who fear the verdict will be 'twisted and misapplied' when other women speak out in the future.
Following the verdict, a social media storm was created with those who are either pro-Johnny or pro-Amber posting their support or worries over the jury's conclusions online.
"I don't care how you feel about Johnny Depp or Amber Heard - this is a very bad day for women who are victims," one user said.
A survivor told Rolling Stone: "People who have decided women are liars, and abusers are equal victims, won't be swayed. And the damage to victims in terms of silencing and scaring them has already been done, so Johnny Depp's PR machine has won."
"The silence so many fought against for so many years will once again descend over survivors of sexual violence and domestic violence."
Another concerned user added: "I fear that regardless of the merits of the case, many women will suffer as a consequence of the Heard-Depp verdicts. The results will be twisted and misapplied in ways that will make further abuse likely."
Meanwhile, on the other side, male and female victims of abuse have celebrated the Johnny win as one of their own.
"Johnny Depp has won his defamation case against Amber Heard," one user said. "This is not just a victory for Johnny, but a victory for male victims of domestic abuse & false allegations. Captain Jack Sparrow has gifted male victims a voice.
Another user explained: "I'm a female DV survivor & I have been sickened by the way Heard exploited genuine victims & made it even harder for them to be believed.
"Depp won because the *evidence* overwhelmingly supported his case. & btw he is a survivor too."
One added: "I'm a survivor. This is what I ALWAYS wanted. Only thing I'm sickened by is that she somehow got away with paying him ONLY $10million."
Johnny brought the case to court after accusing Amber of defaming him in a 2018 op-ed she penned for The Washington Post.
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The article does not mention Johnny by name, yet his lawyers said it falsely implied he physically and sexually abused Ms Heard while they were together.
After the six-week-long televised trial was over, fans were seen cheering for Johnny outside the Virginia courthouse.
The Rango actor took to social media to thank his fans for their support after he was able to speak his truth.
"I hope that my quest to have the truth be told will have helped others, men or women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those supporting them never give up," he explained on Instagram.
His ex-wife, who is appealing the jury's decision, said she was 'heartbroken' by the verdict and added: "I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It is a setback."
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