Depp-Heard verdict is the defeat of the toxic #MeToo Movement

It’s a victory that transcends two actors. In the case of Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard, we all win.

Depp’s defamation trial against his ex-wife, an epic, televised soap opera/media mosh pit complete with laugh-out-loud farce, irresistible melodrama, and a ton of expert hair, makeup and wardrobe styling — an event that kept people of this nation and beyond riveted for six weeks — ends with a gigantic cultural slap in the face.

This celebrity brouhaha, in the end, is a serious wake-up call. And its outcome affects all Americans. Even folks from outside our borders.

In a surprising verdict, the seven-member Virginia jury concluded that Depp, 58, the flawed ’90s Hollywood heartthrob, was in fact defamed — injured, personally and career-wise, by Heard, 36. She had declared herself a poster woman for “domestic abuse’’ in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed. But the panel disagreed. And in doing so, jurors did a lot more than just stick up for a single, sometimes drug-addled male.

End to movement

The jury has augured an end to the #MeToo movement, a toxic female-fueled revolution that got drunk on its own reckless and absolute power. Beneath its veneer of protecting, usually, the fairer sex from physical, mental and sexual harm, #MeToo has morphed into a monster, a massive, blunt instrument used to punish sometimes innocent people who’ve generally had the misfortune of being born with XY chromosomes.

For every Harvey Weinstein, brought down from a position of power and serial abuse by rightful female rage, there’s an Al Franken, canceled without a trial or serious investigation based on dubious allegations of a sexual variety. For every Kevin Spacey, rightly shunned for sexually targeting younger and weaker co-stars, there’s a Bill Murray, now battling public disgrace and career homicide based on specious complaints of flirtation with ­co-workers.

The jury wholly rejected Heard’s at times wild claims, which she detailed in court testimony that was juicy, profane and frequently conflicting as she described being a battered and sexually assaulted woman. She put on a great show, but it wasn’t enough.

With its decision, a group of Heard’s peers have begun the hard work of helping us all see women not as an abused class of victims, but as fully formed individuals. Some tell the truth. Others don’t. Some are targeted by violent pervs. Some not. Sadly, we had all been bullied by the grievance mob to the brink of losing the ability to tell the difference. And the cause for women’s rights was the biggest near-casualty of a society gone mental.

If we women are all so weak, so incapable of knowing when one is being groped, or just receiving a compliment, how could any woman be placed in a position of authority? We are not so dumb.

Necessary fix

And so, this trial has become the start of a necessary corrective. The broad brush used to paint all men as abusers is ready to be tossed, replaced by a scalpel. Sexual abuse must be stopped, but we must not lose sight of the real brutes and villains among us.

So what happens now?

Aside from the guaranteed appeals, Johnny Depp must set off on a mission to repair his reputation and his career, whose destruction seems to be his ex’s real goal behind her defamatory attack that captivated the world. (Heard also countersued Depp, but the jury found she was defamed by just one of Depp’s lawyers.)

It’s unclear if Johnny Depp will ever see the millions the jury awarded him from his ex-wife. Much less is it known if men all over will ever come out from the under the fog of defamation that #MeToo has placed on so many blameless men — and it’s mostly men.

But now, there is a chance.