Kevin Spacey has been accused of sexual misconduct by fellow actor Anthony Rapp.
In a new interview with Buzzfeed, Rapp accused Spacey of making unwanted sexual advances during a house party in 1986. Rapp was 14 years old, Spacey was 26.
At the time, Spacey and Rapp were both performing on Broadway; they met at a post-show function and struck up a conversation, leading Spacey to invite Rapp to a party hosted at his New York City apartment. Rapp attended the party alone and soon discovered he was the only non-adult in attendance. Bored, he said he went into Spacey’s bedroom to watch television. When the party concluded, Spacey entered the bedroom.
As Rapp recounted to Buzzfeed:
“My memory was that I thought, Oh, everybody’s gone. Well, yeah, I should probably go home,” Rapp said. Spacey, he recalled, “sort of stood in the doorway, kind of swaying. My impression when he came in the room was that he was drunk.” Rapp doesn’t remember Spacey saying anything to him. Instead, Rapp said, “He picked me up like a groom picks up the bride over the threshold. But I don’t, like, squirm away initially, because I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ And then he lays down on top of me.”
“He was trying to seduce me,” Rapp said. “I don’t know if I would have used that language. But I was aware that he was trying to get with me sexually.”
Rapp said he was frozen for several moments before squirming away from Spacey’s arms. “Then I opened the door, and I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to go home now.’ He followed me to the front door of the apartment, and as I opened the door to leave, he was leaning on the front door[frame]. And he was like, ‘Are you sure you wanna go?’ I said, ‘Yes, good night,’ and then I did leave.”
Over the years, Rapp told several friends about his encounter with Spacey, but opted against going public fearing it would stymie his career. But as Spacey’s own career blossomed, Rapp said he became more engaged and Spacey’s frequent appearances in the press and at awards show triggered his emotions. “It started to occur to me: What am I supposed to do if I ever work with him?” Rapp remembered thinking. “What am I supposed to do? What do I do?!”
Rapp said he and Spacey only crossed paths once — at the 1999 Tony Awards, but Spacey didn’t seem to recognize Rapp. Rapp said he was finally compelled to share his story after seeing the allegations made against Harvey Weinstein and several other prominent Hollywood figures. “Part of what allowed the Harvey situation to occur was that there was this witting and unwitting conspiracy of silence,” Rapp said. “The only way these things can continue is if there’s no attention being paid to it, if it’s getting forgotten.
A representative for Spacey did not respond to Buzzfeed’s repeated requests for comment in response to Rapp’s allegations.
Spacey is a two-time Academy Award winner having won Best Supporting Actor in 1996 for The Usual Suspects and Best Actor in 2000 for American Beauty. He currently plays President Frank Underwood on Netflix’s House of Card, a role which has earned him six Emmy nominations for Outstanding Actor in a Drama and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Drama. Rapp is perhaps best known for his role in 1996 Broadway production Rent and its subsequent film adaptation. He currently stars in CBS’ Star Trek: Discovery.
Update: In a statement issued Sunday evening, Spacey said he does not remember the encounter, “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.”
Spacey also said the story encouraged him to address other things about his life, including his sexuality. “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 encounters 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 examine my own behavior,” Spacey concluded.
