Kevin Spacey asks judge to ax Rapp's sex abuse suit
NEW YORK >> Actor Kevin Spacey asked a judge Friday to throw out actor Anthony Rapp's sex abuse lawsuit, saying through his lawyers that allegations that he abused the then-teenage Rapp at a 1980s party are false.
The lawyers wrote in papers filed in Manhattan federal court that the alleged events Rapp described never occurred. Rapp has appeared in “Rent” on Broadway and in “Star Trek: Discovery” on television.
He alleged in his lawsuit that he went to a party in 1986 at Spacey's Manhattan home, where a 26-yearold Spacey, without Rapp's consent, “engaged in a sexual advance” by grabbing Rapp's buttocks and lifting him onto a bed and laying on his body. Rapp claimed he “was forced to extricate himself” before leaving the party.
Spacey's lawyers argued the alleged encounter cannot qualify as sexual abuse under New York's laws because the only alleged contact with an “inti- mate” part of the body by Spacey was when his hand grazed the 14-yearold Rapp's buttocks when the older actor picked him up. The lawyers said Rapp “wriggled out” with no resistance during an encounter of less than 30 seconds.
There was no other evidence that would suggest any fleeting contact between Spacey's hand and Rapp's buttocks was for the purpose of sexual gratification or to degrade or abuse Rapp, the lawyers wrote.
The lack of evidence means Rapp's claims for assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress must fail, the lawyers said.
They said Spacey “flatly denies” that any of what Rapp described took place. Lawyers for Rapp did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
When Rapp first spoke publicly of his claim in 2017, others went public too and Spacey's then-celebrated career abruptly halted. At the time, Spacey issued a statement saying he didn't remember the encounter but apologized.