Kevin Spacey Sexual Assault Trial Decision Revealed
Anthony Rapp lost his civil sexual assault case against Kevin Spacey.
This article is more than 2 years old
In 2017, Anthony Rapp came forward with allegations that Kevin Spacey sexually abused him during a party at the actor’s New York City apartment in 1986. A couple of weeks back, Rapp, who was 14-years old at the time, recounted the incident before a New York City jury, claiming a 26-year-old Spacey lifted him up, put him on a bed, and pinned him down. Rapp had sued Spacey for $40 million, but according to Variety, the jury has sided with Spacey, determining the American Beauty star did not molest the Star Trek: Discovery actor.
Lawyers for Kevin Spacey noted inconsistencies with Rapp’s testimony. For instance, Rapp described Spacey’s apartment as having a separate bedroom, but a floor plan produced by the legal team indicated that he lived in a studio apartment with one room. According to Jennifer Keller, an attorney for Spacey, the floor plan played a significant role in the outcome of the trial.
Although Anthony Rapp was the first person to come forward with claims of sexual assault against Kevin Spacey via a Buzzfeed article published in 2017, several more accusations followed. Andrew Holtzman, now 68-years-old, alleges that he was assaulted by Spacey while the two were working the New York Shakespeare Festival. Holtzman was 27-years old at the time, and he stated he never reported Spacey out of fear of retaliation.
Holtzman claims that Kevin Spacey came into his office, which had a desk and a telephone for performers and employees of the theater to make calls. He alleges that he was wrapping up a phone call and when he began to stand up, Spacey forcefully pushed him down on the desk and climbed on top of him. Holtzman, although openly gay and completely comfortable with his sexuality at the time, says he wasn’t into the 22-year-old Spacey because he was younger.
Kevin Spacey is undoubtedly relieved with the jury’s decision in the Anthony Rapp trial, however, the multiple accusations brought against him over the years have done some serious damage to both his career and reputation. For instance, he was fired from the hit Netflix series House of Cards, where he portrayed the character Francis Underwood, and he was unable to land roles in any projects for quite some time. Additionally, the series of allegations pushed the 63-year-old star, who had spent his life dodging questions about his sexuality, to come out as gay, which is something he wasn’t ready to do.
Although he hasn’t appeared in a film since 2018, Kevin Spacey currently has multiple projects in the works including Peter Five Eight, Gore, and The Man Who Drew God. Now that a jury has found him to be innocent of the accusations Anthony Rapp brought against him, we may see the Academy Award-winning star slowly make a comeback. After all, there was a time when he was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, with hits like The Usual Suspects, The Negotiator, and L.A. Confidential, but he’s got a long way to go before he’s able to reach that status again.
