Spacey ‘pressured to come out as gay’ after sexual misconduct allegations

The Oscar-winning actor said his world ‘exploded’ in 2017 when allegations first emerged against him online.
Kevin Spacey has left Southwark Crown Court after giving evidence (Aaron Chown/PA)
PA Wire
Josh Payne13 July 2023
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Kevin Spacey has said he was pressured to come out as gay after allegations of sexual misconduct were first levelled against him online.

The 63-year-old Oscar winner began giving evidence on Thursday at Southwark Crown Court in London where he is on trial for a series of sex offences.

Jurors heard that the star’s world “exploded” in 2017 when allegations made by actor Anthony Rapp emerged online in a Buzzfeed article, accusing Spacey of lying on top of him in a bedroom.

Detailing reaction to the story, Spacey said: “There was a rush to judgment and before the first question was asked or answered I lost my job, I lost my reputation, I lost everything in a matter of days.”

Allegations made by Rapp were found not proven in October last year but Spacey had in the mean time made a statement coming out as gay which he said “upset” the LGBT+ community.

Addressing the reasons for making the statement while facing allegations of an unwanted sexual advance in the US, he told jurors: “I was under a lot of pressure that I had to say something… if I didn’t it was going to be a nightmare, a PR nightmare.

“Members of the LGTBQ+ community were upset because I came out while I was responding to an accusation… now I understand why it was read that way but I hadn’t put those two things together.”

The gay community had been pressuring me for a very long time about coming out

Kevin Spacey

The American Beauty actor told jurors he had wanted to come out for two years and at one stage had picked out a “particular event” to do it.

He said: “I thought in the face of this terrible accusation maybe I can do something at least positive.

“The gay community had been pressuring me for a very long time about coming out.

“Maybe now that the allegation against Mr Anthony Rapp has been proven to be false, maybe people will read that with a little bit more understanding now.”

Spacey denies charges including sexual assault and indecent assault, which are alleged to have been committed between 2001 and 2013.

He pleaded not guilty in January to three counts of indecent assault, three counts of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent.

The two-time Academy Award winner also previously denied four further charges of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.

The trial continues.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in