Spacey apology faces backlash
Actor admits he’s ‘beyond horrified’ by ‘inappropriate drunken’ actions
LOS ANGELES Actor Kevin Spacey said Sunday he is “beyond horrified” by allegations from actor Anthony Rapp that Spacey made a sexual advance decades ago on Rapp, who was 14 at the time.
But an apology that included Spacey’s first public statement that he is gay faced almost immediate backlash from some critics who say he also seemed to make a connection between being gay and the sexual abuse of minors.
“Bye bye, Spacey goodbye, it’s your turn to cry, that’s why we’ve gotta say goodbye,” tweeted Rose McGowan, a vocal critic of disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein.
Columnist and gay rights activist Dan Savage tweeted: “Nope to Kevin Spacey’s statement. Nope. There’s no amount of drunk or closeted that excuses or explains away assaulting a 14-year-old child.”
Two-time Oscar winner Spacey posted on Twitter that he doesn’t remember the alleged encounter. with Rapp, “But if I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behaviour, and I am sorry for the feelings he describes having carried with him all these years,” he said.
Rapp told BuzzFeed that Spacey befriended him while they both performed on Broadway shows. Rapp was 14 when he attended a party at Spacey’s apartment in 1986, he said. At the end of the night, a drunk Spacey picked him up, placed him on his bed and climbed on top of him, Rapp said.
Rapp said Spacey, 26 at the time, was holding him down tightly, but he was able to get away.
Rapp, now 46 and starring in the TV show Star Trek: Discovery, said he came forward after allegations against Weinstein sparked conversations about sexual abuse and harassment in the entertainment industry.
Meanwhile, Netflix and the producer of House of Cards say they are “deeply troubled” by the allegation against series star Spacey.
The streaming service and series’ producer Media Rights Capital say company executives met with the show’s cast and crew Monday to discuss the situation.
Spacey was not at work on the set, as had previously been scheduled. Production is underway in Baltimore, Md., for the show’s sixth season, which Netflix said Monday will be its last.
The executives say they travelled to the set to ensure the cast and crew feel “safe and supported.”
Spacey, now 58, spoke publicly about his sexual orientation for the first time Sunday on Twitter.
“As those closest to me know, in my life I have had relationships with both men and women,” he said. “I have loved and had romantic encounters with men throughout my life, and I choose now to live as a gay man.”
Spacey, who has fiercely protected his private life, had never disclosed his sexuality before but said Rapp’s story encouraged him to speak. “I want to deal with this honestly and openly and that starts with examining my own behaviour,” he said.