Kevin Spacey has come out as gay after a younger, male actor, accused him of sexual misconduct.
Speaking to Buzzfeed, Anthony Rapp recalled how the House of Cards actor, invited a then 14-year-old Rapp to his Manhattan apartment for a party in 1986 and found him alone, watching TV in a bedroom before proceeding to lay him on the bed and lie on top of the young boy.
The actor has subsequently apologised in a statement, in which he also came out:
Rapp was a cast member alongside Kevin Spacey in a Broadway production at the time.
The Star Trek: Discovery star told Buzzfeed he, ‘still to this day can’t wrap my head around so many aspects of it’, adding: ‘It’s just deeply confusing to me.’
Spacey’s statement reads:
I have a lot of respect and admiration for Anthony Rapp as an actor. I’m beyond horrified to hear his story.
I honestly do not remember the encounter, it would have been over 30 years ago.
But if I did behave then as he describes, I own him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate, drunken behavior [sic], and I am sorry for the feelings he describes having carried with him all these years.
On a personal note, Spacey continued:
This story has encouraged me to address other things about my life. I know that there are stories out there about me and that some have been fueled by the fact that I have been protective of my privacy.
As those closest to me know, in my life I have had relationships with both men and women. I have loved and had romantic encounters with men throughout my life and I choose now to live as a gay man.
I want to deal with this honestly and openly and that starts with examining my own behavior [sic].
However, Spacey’s choice to use these allegations as a platform to come out has not gone down well with some observers, who’ve also criticised the actor for suggesting drunkenness mitigates the alleged sexual abuse of a minor.
Twitter responded accordingly:
Rapp, now 46, told Buzzfeed he decided to speak publicly about the abuse he experienced in the aftermath of allegations regarding film mogul Harvey Weinstein and his systematic abuse of female actors in Hollywood for decades.
Harvey Weinstein has been accused of many incidents of gross sexual misconduct – including harassment, sexual assault and rape – by over 80 women.
Many of these individuals are powerful women in the public eye, like Cara Delevingne, Rose McGowan, Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Blake Lively and Reese Witherspoon.
Now, and only now, with safety in numbers, have these individuals felt able to talk about the abuse they suffered, showing just how insipid and poisonous the nature of sexual abuse can be, at the hands of powerful people.
In bravely telling their stories, these women have inspired others to come forward on social media, using the hashtag ‘Me Too’, in a cathartic but horrific display of how widespread sexual abuse is in wider society.
There’s also the deafening silence of those survivors who’ve been unable to come forward, due to their circumstances, which we would be remiss to forget.
This just goes to show, sexual abuse, can and sadly, does occur outside of heteronormative relationships.
It’s a sad fact which shouldn’t be forgotten at a time like this, when more and more people in power are being outed for abusing it.
For support and information, you can call the Freephone 24-hour National Domestic Violence Helpline, run in partnership between Refuge and Women’s Aid on 0808 2000 247.
You can also call the Men’s Advice Line (managed by Respect) on 0808 801 0327.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.