During the widely publicized legal battle between The Sun and Johnny Depp over the 'wife beater' claim, Amber Heard faced a litany of death threats and misogynistic attacks from the public for taking a stance against Depp's abuse.
A leading human rights lawyer, Helena Kennedy QC used Heard's example to reiterate that there is an abhorrent myth in all patriarchal cultures that find only a certain type of women deserving of legal protection.
Kennedy told The Guardian, “There are still these pervasive myths about the kind of woman who deserves the protection of the law. Battered women have to [seem] meek and subservient to have our sympathy.
“I have represented women who have put up with this but when they do resist, they somehow [are deemed to] lose their right to [compassion]."
The barrister met Heard during the trial, who was feeling "pretty down and beleaguered" at the time.
"She had been receiving threats all the way through the hearing and that was one of the reasons she was feeling low. This is the other thing that women have to contend with, the misogyny of online attacks."
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Depp, who enjoys greater stardom than Heard and is one the biggest actors from the 2000s, received support from his co-stars and colleagues, including Henela Bonham Carter, JK Rowling, Vanessa Paradis and Javier Bardem throughout the legal battle.
During the trial, fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean actor would stand outside the Royal Courts of Justice every day to show support. At the same time, Heard had to resort to a police escort as she continued to receive anonymous death threats.
On Monday, November 2, the London High Court judge finally ruled that Depp had indeed assaulted his former partner Heard and made her fear for her life.
Judge Andrew Nicol said he found the claims from the actor’s ex-wife, Amber Heard, credible, and ruled that Depp had violently assaulted her during their five-year relationship.