In October 2017, the same month that a New York Times investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and assault by movie mogul Harvey Weinstein sparked the #MeToo movement, the actor Antonio Rapp, emboldened by the avalanche of stories, publicly accused Kevin Spacey of having made a sexual advance towards him in 1986, when Rapp was 14 years old. Spacey quickly responded on social media that he did not remember the incident: “But if I behaved as he describes, [I] “I owe you the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior and I am sorry for the feelings you have described that you have carried with you all these years.”
Since then, the Oscar and Emmy winner, whose credits include “The Usual Suspects,” “American Beauty” and “House of Cards,” has faced accusations of sexual assault and misconduct from numerous other men and lost a sentence of $31 million against “House of Cards,” MRC, for violating the company's sexual harassment policy. (Spacey was found not liable in Rapp's federal civil lawsuit against him, and a London jury in July 2023 cleared Spacey of nine criminal counts of sexual assault and indecent assault; as of Tuesday, it appears that a civil lawsuit filed by one of the complainants in that case will proceed to trial.)
Now, “Spacey Unmasked,” a two-part documentary that premiered Monday on the U.K.’s Channel 4, details the allegations of 10 men who were not involved in the London criminal case. Each accuser, identified (except actor Travis Aaron Wade) only by his first name, shares his story, often in terms eerily similar to the language used in the trial, describing Spacey as “soulless,” “cold” and ” inhuman” during the trial. and after the alleged attacks.
These stories span five decades, from Spacey's days in high school drama club to “House of Cards.” All but one have not spoken publicly about the allegations before.
Each two-hour episode is interspersed with commentary from Spacey's brother Randy Fowler, entertainment journalist Adam Vary, Chloe Melas, who broke the story to CNN about “House of Cards” Cast and Crew Allegations against Spacey, and interviews with the actor throughout his career. “Spacey Unmasked” will air on Max in the US at a date to be announced.
At the end of the second episode, the screen reads: “Kevin Spacey said he had not been given enough time or details to respond to the testimonials for this film. He said: “I have consistently denied, and now successfully defended, numerous allegations made in both the US and the UK, both criminal and civil, and on each occasion I have been able to obtain evidence undermining the allegations and a jury of my peers.'” Spacey also took to X, formerly Twitter, argue that Channel 4 did not give him enough time to respond to the allegations and denied them in a video interview with journalist Dan Wootton posted on YouTube. “I can't go through this again, allowing myself to be attacked baselessly and without defending myself,” Spacey said.
Below are the most important conclusions of the documentary.
Spacey Allegedly Masturbated During the Normandy Beach Raid in 'Saving Private Ryan'
In 1998, a man named Scott was working in post-production at Lucasfilm when he met Spacey at the Viper Room in Hollywood. “Starstruck” and “Over the Moon”, Scott told Spacey how he went to film school after military service in the Marine Corps and Spacey took him under his wing, asked for his portrait and resume and told him that They could potentially work together.
Scott claims Spacey invited him to a house party in the Hollywood Hills and asked him to go alone to the upstairs home theater. “He asked for a hug,” Scott says. “I didn't know he was gay.” Scott says he gave him a quick “brother hug” and Spacey grabbed him like a bear and started rubbing his face into his neck and fucking him. “You know I'm a Marine, right?” he told Spacey, to which Spacey allegedly responded, “Yeah, that's half the attraction.”
The next day, according to the documentary, Spacey called Scott and asked to meet with the intention of retrieving Scott's photo and resume. “Thank you, God,” Scott says. “He really cares about my career.” Scott alleges that the couple met on a corner where there was a movie theater showing “Saving Private Ryan” and Spacey suggested they go see it together, and Spacey proceeded to masturbate during the first part of the film when the beaches of Normandy They were being occupied. he burst in. “I look and Kevin is pleasuring himself. [to] Some of the most horrific war images ever created,” Scott says in “Spacey Unmasked.”
Scott also alleges that Spacey reached out to grab Scott's hand to help him masturbate, but Scott pulled away.
Men feared professional consequences if they said no to Spacey
Like many women in Hollywood who made accusations as part of the #MeToo movement, a common thread among the accusers in the documentary was fear of repercussions on their careers if they went public with their accusations.
In New York City in 1999, Jesse says he was working on “The Big Kahuna,” which Spacey starred in and produced. He describes the atmosphere in which everyone bowed down to Spacey and the actor ran the show. “I'm kidnapping you and you're going to run with me,” Spacey allegedly told Jesse before taking him to his trailer.
One night, in a bar bathroom, Jesse says, Spacey “takes out his [penis] and puts his tongue in my mouth,” but was interrupted and left when someone knocked on the door. Jesse told his mother about the incident, who in turn told her son to go to the National Enquirer. “I will never work in Hollywood again,” Jesse remembers him telling his mother.
After the “Saving Private Ryan” incident, Spacey relentlessly pursued Scott with phone calls, which he ignored. Scott eventually accepted an invitation to a party and met with Spacey at a hotel, where he alleges that Spacey began massaging his shoulders and explaining to him “in no uncertain terms” that if he didn't “pay the toll,” his name wouldn't be in lights. “There's a humiliation that comes with being looked at like an object,” Scott says in “Spacey Unmasked,” after which, still wearing his microphone, he turns away from the camera and cries.
Spacey's inappropriate sexual behavior allegedly dates back to high school
In 1977, when Spacey was attending Chatsworth High School as Kevin Fowler, he already had a stellar reputation as an actor and his goal was to become a star.
But as a classmate and theater fan alleges, Spacey was already capable of making unwanted physical advances: “He grabbed my genitals with intent and purpose,” the classmate says. “In a sense, he was trapped. He was very aggressive.” Later, he alleges, Spacey cornered him at a party and warned him not to mention what happened.
In 1981, Andy was in production with Spacey at the Public Theater in New York. “I was comfortably out of the closet and I had a boyfriend,” he says. One day, Spacey walked into the office where Andy was working behind a desk. Spacey didn't greet him or speak to him, Andy says, and went to sit behind a desk used by guests. Andy says he stood up, and when Spacey stood up too, the actor allegedly got an erection. Andy claims that Spacey walked up to him and, “without saying a word, angrily,” pulled him up onto the desk and pushed himself toward him. “I told him, 'Leave me alone, this is my office,' but he insisted before he could push him enough for him to roll. It was cold that was almost inhuman. He was very afraid and I never told anyone.”
Spacey's father was a Holocaust denier who allegedly abused and raped his brother
Randy Fowler first said the daily mail about him and Spacey's father in 2017, but the story didn't receive much attention. In “Spacey Unmasked,” Randy describes the house as “creepy, cold and violent,” but their bond as brothers is strong and playful.
His father denied the Holocaust and held Nazi meetings in the house, says Randy, who claims there was a Nazi flag hanging on the wall of his father's office. He had a riding crop and “used to beat me up,” Randy alleges. “I never saw my father put his hand on my brother. But Kevin didn't have a normal childhood; he simply found a way to survive in an environment that was not that of a loving family. I think acting was a way to escape from his origin.”
In the second episode, Randy alleges that his father raped him in 1969 and that the atmosphere of abuse permeated the home even though Kevin Spacey was not the victim. “Just because [Spacey] “He wasn't being abused, that doesn't mean there wasn't psychological trauma within him because of the strange family life we had.”
Women on the set of “House of Cards” say they could tell what was happening
Evelyn worked as a production assistant on “House of Cards” from 2012 to 2015. “I loved working on that set, but the behavior made it a hostile environment for a lot of people,” she says. She alleges that Spacey approached artists and got very close, acted flirtatious, and was quite touchy; He could, for example, put a hand on one's arm and talk about his muscles. “He's your boss, so if he comes up to you and wants to strike up a conversation, you're obligated to do it,” she says.
“Kevin's problem was certainly well known,” he continues.
Dawn worked on “House of Cards” from 2013 to 2017, as an actress playing the role of Claire Underwood's security team, during the same period that Daniel, 23, was hired to play a member of the team. of Frank Underwood's security. Daniel, new to the industry, was excited about the opportunity. He was given a speaking role in one scene, and after he and Spacey left the set, he alleges that Spacey touched her penis in a sexual manner. “It wasn't us playing in the locker room or a joke,” he says. “I was touched inappropriately at work.”
Dawn claims that she had a feeling that such bad behavior was happening with Daniel and others, but she didn't know to what extent. One day, she alleges, Daniel came running up to her and said, “Dawn, you have to hide me, Kevin is behind me.” Afterward, she says, she called “the union” and warned them that Spacey was “a sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen.” (A SAG-AFTRA representative did not immediately respond to The Times' request for comment.)
