Anyone who argues in the future, “Women never lie about this stuff” will be soundly and sharply rebutted with a mention of Heard’s name. A single counter-example to a series of claims, if it is sufficiently salient, can dog the lot of them. How many other women out there accusing men of bad behavior have, behind the scenes, been as horrible as Amber Heard? Is it proper that there is usually no due process whatsoever offered a man when his reputation gets blown up by a woman alleging sexual misconduct?

As though eager to make himself a metonym for all the Hollywood men canceled for misbehavior, Depp had the gumption (and the money) to get himself his day in court, twice, and to methodically prove that he himself was the victim of a sustained campaign of marital abuse. He has provided persuasive evidence that, for instance, Heard threw a bottle at him so hard that the glass shattered and severed one of his fingers. Say, Warner Bros., do you condone this disgusting act of violence? Moreover, though Heard got emotional on the stand, so much adverse information about her had already come out that it was reasonable to wonder whether this professional actress was in fact acting as she described her alleged victimization. If Heard is acting up a storm while talking about being abused, though, how many other women making similar claims might be doing the same?

Depp is causing millions to wonder whether we let #MeToo go too far.