Anthony Rapp, a 14-year-old boy, accused Kevin Spacey, 26 years, of making sexual advances against him in 1986. This was around the time the #MeToo movement was born. The accusation triggered a flood of sexual abuse allegations against Spacey. House of CardsSpacey was also charged with several counts of sexual abuse in the United Kingdom. Rapp also filed a civil lawsuit against Spacey for $40 million. While testifying, he was also charged with sexual assault in the United Kingdom. Star Trek: Discovery actor was asked about Spacey’s seduction scene from American Beauty.
In case you’ve never seen the 1999 movie that Sam Mendes directed, it saw Kevin Spacey playing a father who becomes romantically obsessed with one of his teenage daughter’s friends. While appearing on the stand in New York City on Tuesday, Anthony Rapp recalled how watching Spacey’s character longing for Mena Suvari’s Angela Hayes felt “unpleasantly familiar.” American Beauty went on to win five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Spacey netting Best Actor, but it ended up being the last of Spacey’s movies that Rapp watched. When Jennifer Keller, one of Spacey’s attorneys, brought up the accolades Spacey collected for this work on American BeautyRapp responded (via Variety):
At that time, it was difficult for me to evaluate his performance. He gave an outstanding performance in that movie, I am sure.
Anthony Rapp also said during his testimony that despite his experience with Kevin Spacey in 1986, he continued to watch the actor’s movies because “they were by and large very acclaimed”He and she “felt it was my duty to do so.”Both men would come across each other in many professional settings. They met in 1993 when they were both working in the same building. In 1999, they attended the Tony Awards together. Rapp was also privy to a benefit that Spacey walked up to the podium in 2013. “sort of in the spotlight,” though he didn’t leave the event because he feared he’d make a “scene.”
During the courtroom proceedings, Kevin Spacey’s attorneys accused Anthony Rapp of manufacturing the allegations against Spacey because his decision to come out of the closet ended up negatively impacting his career. Rapp countered by saying that he didn’t blame Spacey for being openly homosexual with anyone “dry period” in his professional life, and that he’d talked with people about what had happened between him and Spacey when he was “working very, very steadily.”
There’s still a ways to go until this lawsuit Anthony Rapp filed against Kevin Spacey is resolved one way or another, but as mentioned earlier, Spacey is also dealing with the charges against him in the U.K. On that front, Spacey responded days after the initial announcement that he was “confident” he’d be able to prove his innocence, and this was followed in June by him being granted unconditional bail by the Southwark Crown Court, allowing him to travel to and from the U.S. freely. As far as Spacey’s professional endeavors go, executives from Vantage Media International tried to find a buyer for Spacey’s new movie Peter Five EightThe actor is also featured at the Cannes Film Festival. Gateway to West.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates on what’s happening with Kevin Spacey’s legal battles. If you’d like to see Anthony Rapp’s performance as Paul Stamets on Star Trek: DiscoveryParamount+ subscribers can stream the show.