Kevin Spacey tells jury of ‘romantic’ touching and consensual sex act – denying sexual assault claims
Kevin Spacey has told his trial he was “flirtatious” and “romantic” with one of his alleged sexual assault victims, and that he had a consensual sexual encounter with another – but has denied accusations of “aggressive” sexual offences.
After hearing several days of evidence from his four accusers and other prosecution witnesses, Spacey entered the witness box at Southwark Crown Court in London on Thursday to have his say for the first time.
At the end of the day, the Hollywood actor described the impact of sexual abuse allegations against him first being made public in the US in 2017, saying his “world exploded” as there was a “rush to judgement”, and that he lost “everything in a matter of days”.
He became emotional, fighting back tears, as he addressed a statement he released in response – in which he also came out as gay publicly for the first time – saying he was “under a lot of pressure” to say something and hoped this would be a “positive” in the wake of the “terrible accusation”.
Read the latest developments from court
The 63-year-old, who is best known for films including The Usual Suspects and American Beauty, as well as political drama House Of Cards, has pleaded not guilty to sexual offence charges relating to four men, which are alleged to have happened in the UK between 2001 and 2013.
Giving evidence, Spacey told jurors he was a “big flirt” – and said when he learned the first complainant had made claims against him, he felt “crushed” that he would “stab me in the back”.
Addressing a separate allegation by another alleged victim, Spacey denied drugging him and said they had a “lovely evening” and a consensual sexual encounter, before the man became “awkward” and “hurriedly” left his flat in London.
First complainant was ‘funny and charming and flirtatious’ – Spacey
The first alleged victim, a driver, has accused the star of sexually assaulting him several times during the early 2000s – including one occasion when he claims Spacey grabbed him “so hard I almost came off the road”.
This “never happened”, Spacey told the court – adding: “I was not on a suicide mission.”
Describing their encounters, the actor said he touched the complainant in “romantic” ways and that they had “a very fun time” together. “He was a lads’ lad,” the star told the court. “He was funny and charming and flirtatious.”
Jurors heard that Spacey and the alleged victim did not have sex because the man “made it clear that he did not want to go any further… and you just respect how far someone wants to go”.
Answering questions from his defence barrister Patrick Gibbs, the star accepted touching the complainant but said: “It did not happen in a violent, aggressive, painful way. It was gentle… and it was in my mind romantic.”
Asked by Mr Gibbs if there was any reluctance from the alleged victim to his advances, Spacey said: “No. The only thing he made clear is he did not want to go any further than we were going and I respected that.”
The man said things such as “this is new for me”, Spacey told the court, “so I think that he may have been surprised by his reaction”.
‘We had a consensual… very nice and lovely evening’
Responding to allegations made by a former aspiring actor – which have led to the most serious charge, of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity – Spacey said he believed they shared an “intimate moment”.
Earlier in the trial, the complainant accused Spacey of drugging him and said he woke to find the actor performing a sex act on him.
“We had had a sexual encounter after which I had gone to the bathroom and I came back from the bathroom and it was like… something had changed,” Spacey told the court.
“The person that I had this intimate moment with was suddenly awkward and fumbling… and I don’t want to say ran out… but hurriedly left. And it felt very odd.”
The man’s behaviour “concerned” him, the actor told the court. He said he rang him after he left to check he was okay.
Spacey denied drugging the man and performing a sex act on him while he was asleep, saying this allegation “makes no sense”.
He told the court. “We had a consensual and, I believe, a very nice and lovely evening. If he regretted it immediately I don’t know, I can’t speak for him, but something was weird – it was strange.”
West End event assault claim ‘madness’
Allegations made by a man who claims Spacey assaulted him during an event at a West End theatre in the mid-2000s were also put to the actor – who described them as “madness”.
The alleged victim has accused the actor of subjecting him to a “barrage of vile” and “hardcore” comments before grabbing his crotch “like a cobra” striking.
“I never said any of the things that he claims I said to him, and wouldn’t – and never have to anyone in my life,” Spacey told the court.
“It never happened,” he said of the alleged incident, and told jurors he did not recognise the man “at all”.
Spacey also told the court that he “primarily” has no issue with the allegation made by a man who claims the actor kissed his neck and grabbed his crotch at a property he was staying at in the Cotswolds in the early 2010s.
The actor told jurors he did not remember doing this but accepts that he might have done. “We all had some drinks…I made a pass and I’m only happy that he testified that the moment he told me he was not interested, I stopped,” he told the court.
Spacey addresses coming out statement in 2017
Towards the end of his evidence, Spacey told jurors he had been looking to come out as gay for two years before he did – in a statement released in response to an allegation of an unwanted sexual advance made by actor Anthony Rapp in the US.
He acknowledged this statement “upset” members of the LGBTQ+ community.
“I was under a lot of pressure that I had to say something… if I didn’t it was going to be a nightmare, a PR nightmare,” he told the court.
“Members of the LGBTQ+ community were upset because I came out while I was responding to an accusation… now I understand why it was read that way but I hadn’t put those two things together.”
Spacey continued: “I thought in the face of this terrible accusation maybe I can do something at least positive. The gay community had been pressuring me for a very long time about coming out.”
The allegations made by actor Anthony Rapp against Spacey were found not proven in October 2022.
“Maybe now that the allegation against Mr Anthony Rapp has been proven to be false, maybe people will read [the statement] with a little bit more understanding now,” Spacey said.
The actor is appearing in court under his full name, Kevin Spacey Fowler, and has pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual assault and indecent assault, one charge of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, and one charge of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity, in relation to the four men.
The trial continues.
Entertainment
Dance artist Moby on the destructive force of fame – and why he’s content being that ‘weird old guy’
He is the man behind the biggest-selling electronica record of all time, but the success of Moby’s album Play came with some unwanted side effects.
His fifth record, the album charted at 33 upon its release in the UK in May 1999, and fell out of the Top 40 after just a week. But despite the lacklustre initial response, Play started to pick up steam, slowly climbing the chart until it reached number one in April 2000.
It stayed there for five weeks and remained in the Top 40 until March 2001, re-entering the Top 100 several times over the next few years.
While Moby had experienced success with Go, the breakthrough 1991 single from his self-titled debut album, Play was next level. Even if you don’t know the album, you’ll know at least some of the songs – Porcelain, Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?, Honey, and Natural Blues. The record was ubiquitous and fame hard to escape.
Pic: Adam Warzawa/EPA/Shutterstock
“I think fame and fortune are, probably, empirically two of the most destructive forces on the planet,” he says, speaking from his home in Los Angeles. “I mean, if fame and fortune fixed things, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse would still be making records.
“I guess it’s a very easy system to buy into, especially in a place like… in New York, in Los Angeles, in these big cities that are driven by ostentation and consumption and the need for external validation. It’s hard to resist those temptations. But then… you look at the consequences of that.
“I’d rather try and live a rational life and not necessarily let other people’s concerns dictate what my concerns should be.”
Now sober and with a few years between him and those heady days of peak fame, in recent years Moby has been doing something few established stars in his position would do – giving his compositions away for free.
“I have a house, I have a car, I have some hoodies, I have food in the fridge, I don’t really need anything more,” he insists. “To live and work in a way where I’m not driven by money, why not use that as an opportunity?”
Selfless selfishness or selfish selflessness
Pic: Wael Hamzeh/EPA/Shutterstock
Over a decade ago, the musician came up with the quietly radical idea of making a free music licensing platform, MobyGratis. The idea was simple and rather exciting, he admits – to allow anyone unrestricted access to hundreds of his compositions to use them however they wish. From film scores to remixes, whatever.
“It’s either selfless selfishness or selfish selflessness, meaning I’m giving these things away but the benefit to me is I get to see what people do with it,” he says.
“There are a lot of things about the current digital media climate that are terrifying and baffling and confusing, but one of the things I love is the egalitarian nature of it.”
The idea of giving his music away for free runs somewhat contrary to the AI copyright battle many artists are currently speaking out over, with the likes of Ed Sheeran and Damon Albarn calling for greater protections in law to prevent artificial intelligence software from scraping their work to learn from it.
Remix culture and creative processes
“I completely appreciate and respect the concerns that other people have,” says Moby. “I think they’re incredibly valid… but for me personally, I don’t know. Maybe it’s naive and stupid of me, but I kind of just ignore it.
“I put this music out there and you sort of hope for the best, which probably is completely dim-witted of me. Part of remix culture is seeing how people reinterpret your work; sometimes it’s mediocre, sometimes it is bad, but sometimes it is so inspired, and I can actually learn a lot from other creative processes.”
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The dance artist also takes issue with how the act of giving and compassion more generally has come to be seen, and references Elon Musk‘s comments on Joe Rogan’s podcast in April, when the billionaire said: “We’ve got civilizational suicidal empathy going on.”
Moby says that while “we live in this world of fear, selfishness, desperation and viciousness”, he supports “anything that is a rejection of the manosphere… anything that rejects Elon and the idea that empathy is a weakness and reminds people that life can be simple and decent.”
He jokes: “I’m definitely becoming like the weird old guy that you’ll see in the mountains, sort of like not making eye contact and mumbling about chemtrails or something.”
This is a man who is aware his approach to fame, fortune and giving stuff away is somewhat out-of-keeping with the times we’re living in – but the thing is, Moby doesn’t seem to care.
Entertainment
Lawyer for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs claims there was ‘mutual violence’ between him and ex-girlfriend
A lawyer representing Sean “Diddy” Combs has told a court there was “mutual” domestic violence between him and his ex-girlfriend Casandra ‘Cassie’ Ventura.
Marc Agnifilo made the claim as he outlined some of the music star’s defence case ahead of the full opening of his trial next week.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of
transportation for prostitution. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.
Ms Ventura is expected to testify as a star witness for the prosecution during the trial in New York. The final stage of jury selection is due to be held on Monday morning.
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Why is Sean Combs on trial?
Mr Agnifilo told the court on Friday that the defence would “take the position that there was mutual violence” during the pair’s relationship and called on the judge to allow evidence related to this.
The lawyer said Combs‘s legal team intended to argue that “there was hitting on both sides, behaviour on both sides” that constituted violence.
He added: “It is relevant in terms of the coercive aspects, we are admitting domestic violence.”
A court sketch showing Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs (right) as he listens to his lawyer Marc Agnifilo addressing the court. Pic: Reuters
Ms Ventura’s lawyers declined to comment on the allegations.
US District Judge Arun Subramanian said he would rule on whether to allow the evidence on Monday.
Combs, 55, was present in the court on Friday.
He has been held in custody in Brooklyn since his arrest last September.
Prosecutors allege that Combs used his business empire for two decades to lure women with promises of romantic relationships or financial support, then violently coerced them to take part in days-long, drug-fuelled sexual performances known as “Freak Offs”.
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Sean Combs: A timeline of allegations
Combs’s lawyers say prosecutors are improperly seeking to criminalise his “swinger lifestyle”. They have suggested they will attack the credibility of alleged victims in the case by claiming their allegations are financially motivated.
The trial is expected to last around eight weeks.
Entertainment
Harvey Weinstein accuser says film mogul ‘took her soul’ during alleged sexual assault
An ex-model has tearfully told a court that being sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein when she was 16 was the most “horrifying thing I ever experienced” to that point.
Warning: This article contains references to sexual assault
Kaja Sokola told the film producer’s retrial that he ordered her to remove her blouse, put his hand in her underwear, and made her touch his genitals.
She said he’d stared at her in the mirror with “black and scary” eyes and told her to stay quiet about the alleged assault in a Manhattan hotel in 2002.
Ms Sokola told the New York court that Weinstein had dropped names such as Penelope Cruz and Gwyneth Paltrow, and said he could help fulfil her Hollywood dream.
“I’d never been in a situation like this,” said Polish-born Ms Sokola. “I felt stupid and ashamed and like it’s my fault for putting myself in this position.”
Weinstein denies sexually assaulting anyone and is back in court for a retrial after his conviction was overturned last year.
Read more: Weinstein is back in court – but what has happened to the #MeToo movement since 2017?
Weinstein denies the allegations. Pic: Reuters
The 73-year-old is not charged over the alleged sexual assault because it happened too long ago to bring criminal charges.
However, he is facing charges over an incident four years later when he’s said to have forced Ms Sokola to perform oral sex on him.
Prosecutors claim it happened after Weinstein arranged for her to be an extra in a film.
“My soul was removed from me,” she told the court of the alleged 2006 assault, describing how she tried to push Weinstein away but that he held her down.
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Ms Sokola – who’s waived her right to anonymity – is the second of three women to testify and the only one who wasn’t part of the first trial in 2020.
Miriam Haley testified previously in the retrial. Pic: AP
Miriam Haley last week told the court that Weinstein forced oral sex on her in 2006. The other accuser, Jessica Mann, is yet to appear.
Claims against the film mogul were a major driver for the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and abuse in 2017.
Weinstein’s lawyers allege the women consented to sexual activity in the hope of getting film and TV work and that they stayed in contact with him for a while afterwards.
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