When Johnny Depp and Amber Heard finalized their divorce back in 2017, both parties signed non-disclosure agreements which prohibited them from discussing their marriage publicly.
It wasn't a terribly surprising move, as the actors' split was one of the messiest in recent Hollywood history, with both sides hurling damaging accusations of abuse at one another.
In December of 2018, however, Heard published an essay in The Washington Post in which she described her experiences in an abusive marriage.
Though she did not mention her abuser by name, Heard has only been married once, and it didn't take much for the public to piece together that she was talking about Depp.
This led Depp to file a lawsuit against Heard, which in turn led to new allegations and a resurgence of interest in the former couple's wildly messy marriage.
And the latest piece of evidence in this case could have devastating consequences for Heard's career and reputation:
The above audio recording, released on Saturday night, documents an argument between the former couple in which Heard angrily admits to hitting Depp.
"I'm sorry that I didn't, uh, uh, hit you across the face in a proper slap, but I was hitting you, it was not punching you. Babe, you're not punched," Heard says at one point.
"I don't know what the motion of my actual hand was, but you're fine, I did not hurt you, I did not punch you, I was hitting you."
Throughout the conversation, Heard mocks Depp for calling a friend for help after she assaulted him during an argument.
Depp has long claimed that he can prove he never hit Heard if he should ever have the opportunity to do so in court.
Conversely, he says he experienced constant abuse during his brief marriage to the actress, culminating in a night in which Heard nearly cut his finger off with a broken bottle.
The recording led to the surge of a #JusticeForJohnnyDepp hashtag, which became a top worldwide trending topic on Saturday.
Abuse survivors the world over expressed their support for Depp and shared their own stories.
"I have been in recovery circles of many kinds and stories of men receiving abuse are far too common," TV producer Jesse Zook Mann tweeted.
"Johnny Depp is sadly not an isolated case. No matter your gender you deserve to be safe from abuse be it emotional or physical."
"I listened to it all, and after being a fly on the wall of their fight, it shows she's an abuser & not sharing the full truth," wrote YouTube personality Andy Signore.
The recording doesn't necessarily disprove Heard's accusations against Depp, but it does seem to prove that she was guilty of abusive behavior herself.
It also serves as a reminder that moving on from their disastrous marriage without ever uttering another word about it publicly would probably be the best option for both parties at this point.
