diff --git a/src/main/java/org/apache/commons/lang3/ObjectUtils.java b/src/main/java/org/apache/commons/lang3/ObjectUtils.java
index 22d8bc5f3..51d3428dd 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/apache/commons/lang3/ObjectUtils.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/apache/commons/lang3/ObjectUtils.java
@@ -625,13 +625,7 @@ public class ObjectUtils {
      */
     @Deprecated
     public static boolean equals(final Object object1, final Object object2) {
-        if (object1 == object2) {
-            return true;
-        }
-        if (object1 == null || object2 == null) {
-            return false;
-        }
-        return object1.equals(object2);
+        return Objects.equals(object1, object2);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1184,7 +1178,7 @@ public class ObjectUtils {
      * @return {@code false} if the values of both objects are the same
      */
     public static boolean notEqual(final Object object1, final Object object2) {
-        return !equals(object1, object2);
+        return !Objects.equals(object1, object2);
     }
 
     /**