Kevin Spacey will go to the U.K. “voluntarily” to fight sexual assault charges
After allegations that surfaced five years ago, Spacey has finally been officially charged.
After having his Me Too comeuppance in 2017, Kevin Spacey has been largely out of the limelight, and not working on any projects. His most public-facing escapade since was to post two cryptic videos to Youtube reprising his character of Frank Underwood in House of Cards, from which he was fired after the sexual assault allegations surfaced. He also spoke at a Virtual Founders Breakfast for the Munich-based startup conference Bits & Pretzels in 2020, during which he compared losing work due to the accusations to workers being laid off during the pandemic. But now Spacey will finally have his day in an actual court, and he has issued a rare public statement on the matter.
Spacey has been officially charged in the U.K. — whose Crown Prosecution Service spent a year reviewing the case before going forward — with four counts of sexual assault and one count of “causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.” Spacey told Good Morning America in a statement through a representative on Tuesday, “I very much appreciate the Crown Prosecution Service’s statement in which they carefully reminded the media and the public that I am entitled to a fair trial, and innocent until proven otherwise. While I am disappointed with their decision to move forward, I will voluntarily appear in the U.K. as soon as can be arranged and defend myself against these charges, which I am confident will prove my innocence.”
Spacey’s downward spiral began five years ago when Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp claimed that the actor made sexual advances against him at the age of 14 when they both were working on Broadway. Afterward over 20 accusers with similar stories have come forward. Rapp also began the process of suing Spacey in 2020 in a complicated legal battle. At the time of the initial accusation, Spacey said that he could not remember if the 30-year-old incident had occurred, “But if it did behave as he describes, I owe [Rapp] the sincerest of apologies for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior.”
