20 men say Spacey sexually harassed them at Old Vic
‘Cult of personality’ stopped them making claims against director
KEVIN Spacey has been accused by 20 men of ‘sexually inappropriate behaviour’ during his time at The Old vic theatre.
The A-lister, who was artistic director at the London venue between 2004 and 2015, is accused of ‘disturbing’ conduct towards men, including at least 16 former employees.
An investigation, set up by the theatre last month when allegations against the Oscar-winning actor first emerged, found a ‘cult of personality’ surrounding the Hollywood star which may have stopped men speaking up.
The Old vic initially claimed it had ‘ received no complaints’ about the 58-year-old’s behaviour. Twenty men have now come forward, including one employee who said he told his boss about an alleged incident but the unnamed manager ‘didn’t do anything’. Kevin Spacey: At venue in 2004 Some 14 of the 20 male complainants were told they should consider going to the police, the theatre said. Three have done so.
The theatre released a statement yesterday that said: ‘It was claimed that those affected felt unable to raise concerns and that Kevin Spacey operated without sufficient accountability. This is clearly unacceptable and The Old vic truly apologises.
‘We have not slept since this came out, because we have been working incredibly hard to do this in a robust and detailed and measured and careful way. It would have been easy for us to make a quick statement. It was not appropriate for us to do that because of the nature of the allegations.’
Allegations against Spacey emerged last month when actor Anthony Rapp claimed Spacey had behaved inappropriately towards him when he was 14 and Spacey was 26. Since then, dozens more men have come forward to accuse him of sexual misconduct.
He is already being investigated by the Met over an alleged 2008 sexual assault in Lambeth, the London borough where both The Old vic and Spacey’s former residence are located.
The theatre’s current artistic director yesterday said he was ‘shocked’ and ‘surprised’ by the allegations. Its current chairman, Nick Clarry, issued an apology to ‘all those people who felt unable to speak up at the time’. The investigation found staff ‘did not feel confident’ that the theatre would take allegations against Spacey seriously because of his prestigious position.
It also cited his ‘star power’ as contributing to the problem, as well as actors worrying about how reporting issues may affect their career prospects.
Several of the allegations related to the theatre’s bar and others to creative spaces such as rehearsal rooms. It is alleged that more than half of the incidents took place inside the Old vic theatre.
Spacey’s landmark directorship of the theatre – one of the oldest in Britain – was credited with saving the institution following years of uncertainty.
The actor, whose movies include The Usual Suspects and American Beauty, is thought to be attending a £28,000-a-month sex addiction clinic in Arizona. Lawyer Richard Miskella, assisting the investigation, said there were 56 responses to the confidential email address set up to allow people to come forward with allegations.
Of these, 20 were personal testimonies alleging inappropriate conduct by Spacey between 1995 and 2013. Mr Miskella said the allegations ranged from ‘behaviour that made people feel uncomfortable to sexually inappropriate behaviour’.
The alleged incidents do not relate to minors but the complainants would be considered ‘younger men’, Mr Miskella said.
Spacey was invited to take part in the investigation but did not respond, the lawyer said.
Matthew Warchus, who took over as artistic director after Spacey left, said: ‘These allegations have been a shock and a disturbing surprise to many of us ... as a result of the investigation, what we have learnt is how better to call out this behaviour in future.’
A representative for Spacey has been contacted for comment.
‘Unable to raise concerns’