Kevin Spacey grabbed man’s crotch ‘like a cobra getting hold’ after ‘vile’ sexual comments, court told
Kevin Spacey subjected a man he met at a celebrity event to a “barrage” of “vile” sexual comments before grabbing his crotch “like a cobra getting hold”, a court has been told.
Jurors at Southwark Crown Court in London heard this evidence from the third of four men who have accused the Hollywood actor of sexual offences, alleged to have taken place in the UK between 2001 and 2013.
On Wednesday, footage was played in court of the police interview given by the complainant, in which he told an officer that Spacey made “hardcore” sexual comments.
The latest developments from court
The man told the officer he remembered “freezing and pushing his arm away” when the actor allegedly grabbed him, describing the whole encounter as a “visceral” and “degrading” experience.
In his interview, the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he met Spacey, now 63, at a celebrity event. His first impressions were that the actor seemed “very arrogant” and “smelled of booze”, the court heard.
He told the officer Spacey started making crude comments. “It was very aggressive,” the man said. “I have never had anyone talk to me in that way.”
The complainant said he was “shocked” and “taken aback”, and questioned why the actor would think he was that “sleazy”.
Elizabeth Cook/PA
‘An abuse of his power’
“He made me feel worthless,” the complainant said, telling the officer that the “barrage” of “vile comments” were as bad as the alleged physical assault.
Describing this, the complainant said Spacey “was like a cobra and grabbed with such force it was really painful”, and it was “like a cobra coming out and getting hold”.
He said the touching was not in any way “romantic or flattering”, but “aggressive” and “angry”.
Asked why he decided to come forward years after the alleged incident, the complainant said it was as if he had “allowed somebody, in a way, to denigrate me”.
He told police: “I hope he does the right thing – if he apologises then maybe I won’t want him to go to court.”
The complainant said he put his allegations “in a box” initially because the Oscar-winning actor was seen as a “golden boy”, but that it “had a detrimental effect on my life”.
In the footage, he tells the officer that while Spacey is a celebrity, he should “still know right from wrong” and that what he allegedly did was an “abuse of his power”.
Latest evidence and the charges against Spacey
On Wednesday, the court also heard evidence from the second alleged victim, who told jurors that Spacey invited him and others back to a countryside property he was staying at, where he allegedly kissed him on the neck and grabbed his crotch.
Under cross-examination, the alleged victim denied being motivated by money in coming forward.
Spacey pleaded not guilty in July 2022 to four charges of sexual assault and one of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.
In January this year, he pleaded not guilty to seven further charges – three counts of indecent assault, three counts of sexual assault, and one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent.
The trial continues.
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Joy star James Norton on the ‘postcode lottery’ of IVF – and playing the scientist who was part of creating the first ‘test-tube baby’
Actor James Norton, who stars in a new film telling the story of the world’s first “test-tube baby”, has criticised how “prohibitively expensive” IVF can be in the UK.
In Joy, the star portrays the real-life scientist Bob Edwards, who – along with obstetrician Patrick Steptoe and embryologist Jean Purdy – spent a decade tirelessly working on medical ways to help infertility.
The film charts the 10 years leading up to the birth of Louise Joy Brown, who was dubbed the world’s first test-tube baby, in 1978.
In the UK, statistics show the proportion of IVF cycles paid for by the NHS has dropped from 40% to 27% in the last decade
Norton, who is best known for playing Tommy Lee Royce in the BAFTA-winning series Happy Valley, told Sky News he has friends who were IVF babies and other friends who have had their own children thanks to the fertility treatment.
“But I didn’t know about these three scientists and their sacrifice, tenacity and skill,” he said. The star hopes the film will be “a catalyst for conversation” about the treatment and its availability.
“We know for a fact that Jean, Bob and Patrick would not have liked the fact that IVF is now so means based,” he said. “It’s prohibitively expensive for some… and there is a postcode lottery which means that some people are precluded from that opportunity.”
Bill Nighy, Thomasin McKenzie and James Norton star in Joy. All pics: Netflix/ Kerry Brown
Now, IVF is considered a wonder of modern medicine. More than 12 million people owe their existence today to the treatment Edwards, Steptoe and Purdy worked so hard to devise.
But Joy shows how public backlash in the years leading up to Louise’s birth saw the team vilified – accused of playing God and creating “Frankenstein babies”.
Bill Nighy and Thomasin McKenzie star alongside Norton, with the script written by acclaimed screenwriter Jack Thorne and his wife Rachel Mason.
The couple went through seven rounds of IVF themselves to conceive their son.
Norton portrays scientist Bob Edwards, while McKenzie plays embryologist Jean Purdy
While the film is set in the 1970s, the reality is that societal pressures haven’t changed all that much for many going through IVF today – with the costs now both emotional and financial.
“IVF is still seen as a luxury product, as something that some people get access to and others don’t,” said Thorne, speaking about their experiences in the UK.
“Louise was a working-class girl with working-class parents. Working class IVF babies are very, very rare now.”
In the run-up to the US election, Donald Trump saw IVF as a campaigning point – promising his government, or insurance companies, would pay for the treatment for all women should he be elected. He called himself the “father of IVF” at a campaign event – a remark described as “quite bizarre” by Kamala Harris.
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Bill Nighy ‘proud’ of new film on IVF breakthrough
“I don’t think Trump is a blueprint for this,” Norton said. “I don’t know how that fits alongside his questions around pro-choice.”
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In the UK, statistics from fertility regulator HEFA show the proportion of IVF cycles paid for by the NHS has dropped from 40% to 27% in the last decade.
“It’s so expensive,” Norton said. “Those who want a child should have that choice… and some people’s lack of access to this incredibly important science actually means that people don’t have the choice.”
Joy is in UK cinemas from 15 November, and on Netflix from 22 November
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