Actor Kevin Spacey said Sunday he is “beyond horrified” by allegations that he made sexual advances on a teen boy decades ago.
The two-time Oscar winner posted on Twitter that he doesn’t remember the encounter. “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.
Anthony Rapp, cast member in Star Trek: Discovery, says Spacey made sexual advances on Rapp when he was a teen boy in 1986. (Chriz Pizello/Invision/Associated Press)
In an interview with BuzzFeed , actor Anthony Rapp said 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, an inebriated Spacey picked him up, placed him on his bed, and climbed on top of him, Rapp said.
Rapp said the 26-year-old was holding him down tightly, but he was able to get away and left the apartment.
Spacey speaks publicly about his orientation
Rapp, who is now 46 and starring in the TV show Star Trek: Discovery, said he came forward after allegations against Harvey Weinstein sparked conversations about sexual abuse and harassment in the entertainment industry.
Spacey, who is 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.
Spacey, a Tony Award winner for Lost in Yonkers, stars in the Netflix political drama House of Cards.
He also served for 10 years as artistic director of London’s Old Vic theater company.
Weinstein controversy
Hollywood and some top U.S. companies have been rocked in recent weeks by allegations from scores of women that executives had sexually harassed them.
U.S. movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has been accused by numerous women of having sexually harassed or assaulted them in incidents dating back to the 1980s, including some who said they were raped.
Weinstein denies having non-consensual sex with anyone. He has since been fired as chief executive of The Weinstein Company, which he co-founded and has which been one of Hollywood’s most influential forces since its launch in October 2005.
