Kevin Spacey apologises for 1986 ‘sexual advance’ on teenage boy

Hollywood star Kevin Spacey has apologised after being accused of making a sexual advance on a child actor.

News Deskbdnews24.com
Published : 30 Oct 2017, 07:17 AM
Updated : 30 Oct 2017, 08:35 AM

Spacey’s statement comes soon after Buzzfeed News published a report in which ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ star Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of making the sexual advance on him during a party in 1986, when Rapp was 14. According to public records, Spacey was 26.

Rapp said he felt compelled to come forward after accusations against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein sparked an industry-wide conversation about sexual harassment and abuse.

"And not to simply air a grievance," he told Buzzfeed, "but to try to shine another light on the decades of behaviour that have been allowed to continue because many people, including myself, being silent. … I'm feeling really awake to the moment that we're living in, and I'm hopeful that this can make a difference."

In a statement on his Twitter account Spacey said he was ‘horrified’ by the story.

“I honestly do not remember the encounter, it would have been over 30 years ago. But if I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behaviour, and I am sorry for the feelings he describes having carried with him all these years,” the statement said.

Rapp said Spacey had approached him after many of the guests had left, carried him to a bed and gotten on top of him. Rapp described Spacey as drunk and said he was able to ‘squirm’ away after a short period.

Spacey’s statement was also the first time the actor publicly acknowledged his sexuality.

“As the 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.”

The apology sparked a flood of negative reactions on social media, with gay activists and celebrities criticising Spacey’s combination of his coming-out statement and his apology to Rapp, Variety reports.