Kevin Spacey Sexual Misconduct Scandal: Everything We Know So Far
In the less than a week since Kevin Spacey was first accused of sexual misconduct with a 14-year-old Anthony Rapp back in 1986, numerous men have come forward to disclose their own encounters with the actor, House of Cards has been canceled and his agent and publicist have both distanced themselves from the two-time Oscar winner.
Here, a look back at everything we know so far about Spacey’s growing scandal and the aftermath of his poorly received apology.
Spacey came out as gay in his public apology to Rapp, and members of the industry – and fans – called him out for it. The actor wrote a lengthy post Sunday in response to Rapp’s revealing Buzzfeed interview, which was published earlier that evening. He said, in part, that he did not remember trying to seduce 14-year-old Rapp, but that he apologized sincerely for “what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior.”
Additionally, Spacey revealed that he has “had relationships with both men and women,” and that he now chooses “to live as a gay man.” Actors like Zachary Quinto, George Takei and Wanda Sykes called him out for deflecting attention from his alleged crime to his coming out moment, and thus began the downward spiral of Spacey’s reputation.
GLAAD chief executive, Sarah Kate Ellis, then responded to Spacey‘s apology regarding his alleged sexual misconduct, in which he also publicly came out. “Coming out stories should not be used to deflect from allegations of sexual assault,” Ellis said. “This is not a coming out story about Kevin Spacey, but a story of survivorship by Anthony Rapp and all those who bravely speak out against unwanted sexual advances. The media and public should not gloss over that.”
Netflix announced that House of Cards would end after its upcoming sixth season following the allegation against Spacey, with producers issuing a statement that they were “deeply troubled” by the accusations. A few House of Cards spinoffs are rumored to be in the works.
On Tuesday, several more men came forward to accuse the Spacey of inappropriate touching and unwanted advances. One such person included actor and filmmaker Tony Montana, who told Radar Online that Spacey once groped him, grabbing his “whole package” while at a Los Angeles bar; Spacey then followed him into a restroom. Montana said the incident caused him to suffer from PTSD.
Another man, Mexican actor Roberto Cavazos, shared a lengthy Facebook post that alleged that it was known within the acting community at the Old Vic Theater that Spacey preyed on young male actors. “It seems the only requirement was to be a male under the age of 30 for Mr. Spacey to feel free to touch us,” he wrote.
The Old Vic theater, where Spacey served as artistic director between 2004 and 2015, distanced itself from the actor. The theater started an anonymous tip line for anyone associated with the theater – past or present – who had inappropriate interactions with Spacey to come forward. Numerous sources came forward to shoot down the theater’s claims of ignorance, however, telling The Guardian that those in charge of the theater knew very well the way that Spacey molested and assaulted young men there.
“We were all involved in keeping it quiet,” a former employee told The Guardian. “I witnessed him groping men many times in all sort of different situations.”
A rep for Spacey announced the actor would be seeking treatment in a statement Wednesday. Spacey’s publicist did not specify what kind of “evaluation and treatment“ the Oscar-winner would be seeking, though Harvey Weinstein, who has been accused by more than 60 women of sexual assault and misconduct over the years, is currently seeking therapy for an alleged sex addiction.
Another man comes forward with a detailed account of the sexual relationship he had with Spacey as a 14-year-old boy. The man, who asked to remain anonymous, told Vulture that the relationship began “enthusiastically” in 1983 but ended with what he described to be attempted rape. A lawyer for the American Beauty actor said that Spacey “absolutely denies the allegations.”
Late Thursday evening, eight people came forward anonymously to accuse Spacey of creating a “toxic” work environment on the set of House of Cards. Among those who alleged sexual misconduct were a production assistant who claimed that he was once tasked with picking Spacey up from an offsite location to the House of Cards set. When they were just minutes away from the set – and while the car was still moving – the production assistant alleged that Spacey put his hands down the production assistant’s pants.
“I was in a state of shock,” he said. “He was a man in a very powerful position on the show and I was someone very low on the totem pole and on the food chain there.”
Spacey’s longtime publicist, Staci Wolfe, and talent agency, C.A.A., both dropped him Thursday, according to the Los Angeles Times. Wolfe had been the one to issue the statement that Spacey was seeking “evaluation and treatment” just one day earlier.
Late Friday night, Netflix announced it was severing ties with Spacey immediately, including the in-production House of Cards and Spacey’s Gore Vidal biopic for the streaming service. The status of House of Cards‘ sixth season remains in flux.
Nearly one week after Rapp first came forward with his story about Spacey’s alleged assault, Richard Dreyfuss’ son Harry also shared his own experience with Buzzfeed. According to the younger Dreyfuss, Spacey came on to him in 2008 when he was an 18-year-old senior in high school, inappropriately keeping his hand on Harry’s thigh while the father-son pair was over at Spacey’s London home rehearsing a script. Harry also alleged that Spacey eventually “had all of me in his hand,” but didn’t tell his father until years later.
Kevin Spacey’s rep did not specify what kind of treatment the actor will be undergoing. Watch here.