Few people seemed shocked that Johnny Depp won his defamation trial against his ex-wife, Amber Heard. Judging by the public reaction during the entirety of the trial, Depp seemed to be who everyone was rooting for. As the trial went on, the suspicions of many were confirmed about Heard. She was very likely a manipulative liar who abused Depp, and then proceeded to attempt to ruin him in the court of public opinion.

“With actual malice” is the ax that came down on Heard’s figurative neck.

But if you’re looking to see if the jury’s decision was the right one, I might direct you to their responses. As Bonchie covered in his own article, Heard’s statement was, for lack of a better term, pretty standard fare for a social justice advocate that didn’t get her way. She noted that her loss was actually a loss for all women.

(READ: Amber Heard Releases Statement, Reveals What She Blames for Her Loss to Johnny Depp)

She wrote that the verdict “sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated,” and added Depp’s lawyers got the jury “to overlook the key issue of freedom of speech.”

Only no one is attempting to limit Heard’s freedom of speech, nor any woman who wants to come forward to tell about their abuse at the hands of a psychotic significant other. It’s an odd statement to make, but it fits with what we’ve seen from Heard so far. It’s dramatizing the situation…badly.

Depp’s statement, on the other hand, reads more honest.

Depp mentions that for six years, he’d been the victim of a culture that believed the smears before the facts, and now with this verdict, he can truly begin to rebuild his life.

This line, in particular, really hits home for today’s society:

“I hope that my quest to have the truth be told will have helped others, men and women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those supporting them never give up. I also hope that the position will now return to innocent until proven guilty, both within the courts and in the media.”

BREAKING: Johnny Depp releases statement, blasts media cancel culture, says we need to return to standard of Innocent Before Proven Guilty pic.twitter.com/GH8QAZhjsn

— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) June 1, 2022

Notice the focus on the two. While both put a focus on themselves in terms of their involvement in the case, Heard focused on a false concept (taking free speech from women) that makes no sense. Depp, on the other hand, focused on wishing that something simple be given to everyone; being innocent until proven guilty.

Depp watched his life crumble around him off of the mere insinuation of his abuser who was believed due to her identity in society. His career cratered and studios turned their back on him because they chose to believe a story first and the facts never.

How many people have been in Depp’s position in some way, shape, or form? How many people lost their livelihoods and became pariahs because someone with a bone to pick merely suggested they were the bad guy. It’s a sad reality that we have lived in a society where we’re ready to “believe all women” before we even see the facts. While it ebbed over the past couple of years, we still live in fear of cancel culture.

This trial proves that society has taken a wrong turn and that first must come to the facts before guilt is passed. That Depp wishes that, not just for a singular group, but for everyone, is incredibly telling. His is a story we should really think about when it comes to these things in the future. Depp’s response is for everyone. It’s not political as Heard’s definitely is. In fact, it’s anti-political.

Depp’s response is that of a man who just wants the truth to set him free, and thankfully, it did.