On Wednesday, actor Kevin Spacey was found not guilty on nine counts of sexual assault after a four-week criminal trial in the United Kingdom. Spacey, 64, was charged with sexually assaulting four men between 2001 and 2013 during his time working as the artistic director at London’s Old Vic Theater. His acquittal marked the end of one of the most high-profile cases to come from the 2017 #MeToo movement.
The four alleged victims, all of whom took the stand to testify during the trial, claimed that the “House of Cards” actor engaged in a variety of inappropriate and aggressive behaviors against them, including unwanted touching and, in one case, performing a sex act on a sleeping victim. Prosecutor Christine Agnew referred to Spacey as a “sexual bully” who “delights in making others feel powerless and uncomfortable.”
Spacey, who stood trial under his full name of Kevin Spacey Fowler, was initially charged with 12 counts when the trial began last month: seven sexual assaults, three indecent assaults, one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent. An additional indecent assault charge was added mid-trial, but ultimately all four indecent assaults were thrown out based on a “legal technicality.”
Check out the keynote speakers and details for The Vault 2023 and secure your tickets!
Spacey denied all the allegations, referring to two interactions as consensual, saying another was a “clumsy pass,” and insisting that the rest never happened. Despite claims to the contrary by his accusers, Spacey also stated that the charges against him were motivated by “money, money, and then money.”
Upon hearing the verdict, the actor broke into tears and mouthed “Thank you, thank you” to the jury. “I imagine that many of you can understand that there’s a lot for me to process after what has just happened today,” he told reporters and fans gathered outside the courtroom. “But I would like to say that I’m enormously grateful to the jury for having taken the time to examine all of the evidence and all of the facts, carefully, before they reached their decision. And I am humbled by the outcome today.”
Kevin Spacey spoke to press after being cleared of all sexual assault charges in the U.K. "I am enormously grateful to the jury for having taken the time to examine all of the evidence and all of the facts carefully before they reached the decision." https://t.co/zmP0695pDp pic.twitter.com/LBRPvhilFP
— Variety (@Variety) July 26, 2023
Spacey’s acquittal in the UK comes less than a year after he won a $40 million civil case brought against him by “Star Trek: Discovery” actor Anthony Rapp who alleged that Spacey assaulted him at a party in 1986 when Rapp was 14 and Spacey was 26. However, the jury in that case determined that the allegations did not have sufficient evidence and ruled in Spacey’s favor.
Spacey anticipates that he will soon make a return to acting, stating last month that “people right now…are ready to hire me the moment I am cleared of these charges in London.” This would mark a major reversal in the actor’s career, which was significantly damaged following the first sexual misconduct allegations that emerged in 2017.
Add comment