Until yesterday, Johnny Depp was a powerful and celebrated actor whose towering career seemed to have collapsed under domestic abuse allegations. He was the terrible big bad, who not only abused his former spouse Amber Heard, but whose influence slowed down her career like no other - an opinion piece written by Heard in The Washington Post had convinced us of it being so.

He was boycotted by fans, he lost his iconic role of Captain Jack Sparrow in 'The Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise and faced the brunt of the online backlash that Heard's allegations elicited. But now, it seems the tables have turned. 

The details of Depp's defamation lawsuit against Heard, have planted serious doubts in the hearts of those very people who had taken Heard's side. And why wouldn't it? A picture does speak a thousand words. The narrative surrounding it, however, can be manipulated.

In August 2016, during their divorce proceedings Heard submitted a series of photographs that were meant to chronicle and prove the alleged domestic abuse she faced at the hands of Depp.

In those photos, the court was meant to see just how violent Depp could get - to the point of cutting his own finger off in a "fit of rage". Yesterday, in his $50 million defamation lawsuit, Depp alleged that it was actually Heard who had "shattered the bones in the tip of Mr. Depp's right middle finger, almost completely cutting it off."

Around the same time as the details of the lawsuit started surfacing, photos of Depp with a bruised face made their appearance in many reports as well. The Blast alleges that the pictures were submitted with the lawsuit along with and photos of the almost severed finger. The pictures, needless to say, are graphic.

Unlike the shocker that was the Harvey Weinstein scandal, Depp's case was much more of a heartbreak for many. They loved Depp for all his beloved and admirable performances but the case Heard presented was undeniable. At the height of #MeToo movement, when allegations were indeed holding water and many heroes were falling all around us, it seemed like there was a possibility that Depp wasn't untouchable. 

Fans were inclined to believe that the man they loved was an abuser- and Heard suddenly stepped onto the spotlight as the face of feminism and as she herself claimed on December 18, 2018, in The Post's op-ed, "a public figure representing domestic abuse".

If these allegations that Depp has made against his ex-wife are true, Heard would not only have done a disservice to the #MeToo movement but would also have decreased the chances of actual victims of domestic abuse, who already have a hard time coming forward.

One of the reasons why it was much easier to believe that Depp could possibly hurt Heard was also because of his popularity and success. Ten Golden Globe and three Academy Award nominations among many other accolades, more successful films than you can count on both hands and incredible characters that were so lifelike that one could believe that they were him in real life, Depp hadn't ever been the kind of person who you could identify with.

He was always an enigma, always up there in the stars and it was possibly that air of superiority that made it so easy to believe that he could be the abuser.  

However, it looks like the almost severed finger has done its job. At this point, we don't know what the truth is, but it looks like the internet has made an almost unanimous verdict, and it's in favor of Depp.