Kevin Spacey defends coming out as gay after being accused of sexual misconduct -TGN

Kevin Spacey has defended his decision to come out as gay on the same day the first allegation of sexual misconduct against him came to light. (Getty/Dan Kitwood)

Kevin Spacey has defended the decision to come out as gay on the same day the first allegation of sexual misconduct against him came to light.

The 63 year old American beauty actor is currently on trial at Southwark Crown Court in London on a number of charges against him for assault. He has denied all allegations.

On October 29, 2017, Star Trek actor Anthony Rapp became the first man to accuse Spacey of sexual misconduct, claiming that Spacey drunkenly stepped on him at a party in 1986, when Rapp was just 14.

Last year, a New York court rejected Rapp’s allegations and found Spacey “not liable” for any damages.

On the same day that Rapp made his accusations via a Buzzfeed article, Spacey responded by coming out as gay, writing in a statement, “I have had relationships with both men and women. I have loved and had romantic encounters with men all my life, and I now choose to live as a gay man.”

At the time, celebrities like Wanda Sykes, George Takei, and Billy Eichner condemned Spacey for it “Choose to Hide Under the Rainbow” and deviate from the allegations.

So is GLAAD boss Sarah Kate Ellis said at the time that “coming out stories should not be used to divert allegations of sexual assault”, while a witness at the London trial told the court last week that he found it “so callous” that Spacey was trying to avoid “taking ownership”.

Defending the decision to come out when he did, said Spacey that there was “a rush to judgement” following Rapp’s accusations, and that he therefore felt “under great pressure” to reveal his sexuality.

“Before the first question was asked or answered, I lost my job, lost my reputation, lost everything in a matter of days,” he told the court Thursday (July 13).

“I was under a lot of pressure to say something. If I didn’t, it would be a nightmare, a PR nightmare.

“Members of the LGTBQ+ community were upset because I came out responding to an accusation… now I understand why it was read that way, but I hadn’t put those two things together,” he said. “It wasn’t how I intended it to be.”

Spacey said some members of his team were not in favor of him coming out at the time of Rapp’s allegations, but after a vote it was decided that he should.

“I thought, despite this horrible accusation, maybe I could do something positive,” Spacey added.

The House of cards The actor, who throughout his career had had to deny rumors that he was gay, revealed that he planned to come out at an unspecified event sometime in 2015.

“The gay community has pressured me to come out for a long time,” he said.

“Perhaps now that the allegation against Mr Anthony Rapp has been proven false, maybe people will now read that with a little more understanding.”

Kevin Spacey allegations

Kevin Spacey is currently on trial and charged with 12 counts of sexual misconduct against four men, including assault, indecent assault and inciting sexual activity without a person’s consent.

All of the alleged crimes allegedly took place in the UK between 2001 and 2013, while Spacey was working at The Old Vic Theater in London.

In January of this year, the Oscar winner pleaded not guilty to three counts of sexual assault, three counts of indecent assault, and one count of causing sexual activity without a person’s consent.

He has also denied four other allegations of sexual assault and one instance of inducing someone to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.

Earlier in the trial, Spacey was accused by prosecutor Christine Agnew KC of being a “sexual bully” whose “preferred method of attack is to aggressively grab other men in the groin.”

Spacey has since denied that crotch grabbing is his “trademark”.saying he “might have touched” one of the alleged victims, but wouldn’t call it a “crotch grab”.

The process continues.

Rape Crisis England and Wales works to eradicate sexual violence. If you have been affected by the issues raised in this story, you can find more information on their website or by calling the National Rape Crisis Helpline on 0808 802 9999. Rape Crisis Scotland’s helpline number is 08088 01 03 02.

US readers are encouraged to contact RAINN or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-4673.