Kevin Spacey took the witness stand today during his trial in London.
If you are not aware, the 63-year-old House of Cards actor is currently on trial in London and faces 12 charges of sexual assault.
One major topic that came up dated back to 2017, when Spacey was accused of making a pass at Anthony Rapp when he was only 14 years old. In 2022, they ended up in a trial where Spacey was found not guilty.
Back in 2017 when this accusation was leveled against him, Spacey released a statement where he came out as a member of the LGBTQ community.
Keep reading to find out more…
At the time, this is the statement Spacey chose to release: “I have a lot of respect and admiration for Anthony Rapp as an actor. I’m beyond horrified to hear his story. I honestly do not remember the encounter, it would have been over 30 years ago,” he wrote. “But if I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior, and I am sorry for the feelings he describes having carried with him all these years.”
“This story has encouraged me to address other things about my life. I know that there are stories out there about me and that some have been fueled by the fact that I have been so protective of my privacy. As those closest to me know, in my life I have had relationships with both men and women. I have loved and had romantic relationships with men throughout my life, and I choose now to live as a gay man. I want to deal with this honestly and openly and that starts with examining my own behavior.”
In court on Thursday (July 14), Kevin took the witness stand in his UK trial.
“Members of the LGBTQ+ community were upset because I came out while I was responding to an accusation and now I understand why it was read that way,” Spacey told the court room (via Variety). “People were being professionals and they did their best. I was under a lot of pressure that I had to say something. That it would be a PR nightmare if I didn’t.”
“I understand why people responded the way they did to it,” he added.
“The gay community had been pressuring me for a very long time about coming out,” he continued. He shared that he had not planned on coming out in response to the allegation, but said he wished that his statement would “do something at least positive [and] put the question of my sexuality behind me.”
“Maybe now the allegation against me by Anthony Rapp has been proven to be false, maybe people will read that statement with a little bit more understanding now,” he added.
You can read Anthony’s full 2017 allegation here.