Back in 2017, actor Anthony Rapp accused Kevin Spacey of making sexual advances toward him when he was 14-years-old. Spacey’s response at the time was to claim that he had no recollection of the encounter, but he still apologized for anything he might have done in what he said would have been “inappropriate drunken behavior.” Testifying in court, however, where he is being sued by Rapp, Spacey is now apologizing for issuing the statement, calling it a regret and saying he was pushed to publish it by others.
Anthony Rapp is suing Kevin Spacey for sexual misconduct for an interaction that allegedly took place when Rapp was 14 and Spacey was 26. Rapp claims that after a party at Spacey’s apartment the American Beauty actor pushed him onto the bed before getting on top of him. Following testimony from Rapp, it was Spacey’s turn to take the stand. He said (via Variety) he now regrets issuing an apology, as he claims he did nothing wrong and was pushed to apologize by his publicist. Spacey claimed…
I was being encouraged to apologize and I’ve learned a lesson, which is never apologize for something that you didn’t do. I regret my entire statement. It’s my responsibility. I put it out there. It was really wrong. It was really bad and I’m deeply sorry. I have to own that.
The Usual Suspects Oscar winner says that at the time of Rapp’s published account he was told that if he pushed back he would be seen as blaming the victim, and that he wanted to try and prevent the “crisis” from getting worse. This led Spacey to apologize for the incident despite claiming it never happened.
Spacey admits to knowing Anthony Rapp and spending time with the teen during the time that Rapp claims the misconduct took place, but denies any wrongdoing. Instead, another actor, John Barrowman, came up during testimony. Spacey apparently met Barrowman at a club he was at with Rapp, and the L.A. Confidential actor stated he was far more interested in the future Doctor Who star, saying…
I was very impressed with Mr. Barrowman. He was very handsome and very charming. Anthony Rapp seemed like a kid. John Barrowman seemed like a man.
Kevin Spacey’s career has been at a standstill since the allegations from Rapp were made. He was removed from a Ridley Scott movie he had already made and replaced with Christopher Plummer. He was also fired from the Netflix show House of Cards, which completed one more season without him. Spacey has attempted a career comeback in recent months despite dealing with the lawsuit from Rapp as well as several allegations of sexual assault in the U.K.