Kevin Spacey argued he was ‘cancelled’ – can he now revive his Hollywood career?
“My world exploded,” Kevin Spacey told jurors as he gave evidence during his sexual assault trial. “There was a rush to judgement and before the first question was asked or answered I lost my job, I lost my reputation – I lost everything, in a matter of days.”
The Hollywood star fought back tears as he sat in the witness box at Southwark Crown Court in London, describing how initial allegations in the US in October 2017 – which were followed by those here in the UK, leading to the London court case – created a domino effect of claims, ruining his Oscar-winning career.
Jurors had to decide whether he was telling the truth, or if this was simply another performance.
Kevin Spacey trial – Hollywood star cleared on all counts
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As the initial allegations emerged, Spacey was largely shunned in Hollywood; quickly erased from Ridley Scott’s All The Money In The World, released in December 2017 – with Christopher Plummer reshooting his scenes as billionaire John Paul Getty – and axed from his Golden Globe-winning role as scheming politician Frank Underwood in the Netflix political drama series House Of Cards.
Last year, the star and his production companies were ordered to pay $31m (about £24m) to make up for losses incurred due to his sacking, following “explosive” allegations of sexual misconduct against crew members.
But separate criminal charges in LA and Massachusetts had been dropped in 2018 and 2019 respectively. In 2022, Spacey was found not liable in a civil trial in New York.
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Now, jurors here in the UK have cleared him of any criminal charges in relation to allegations by four men, who claimed the star sexually assaulted them in incidents that allegedly happened between 2001 and 2013.
The court was told that allegations by one man were “madness”, and that Spacey had consensual sexual encounters with two others. He conceded to making a “clumsy pass” at a fourth man, but said the incident was no more than this.
‘Easy for accusers to lie’ about ‘promiscuous’ Spacey, court told
Jurors were told by the star of his determination to prove his innocence, doggedly digging through old records, boxes of photos and any evidence that could disprove the claims. And his barrister, Patrick Gibbs KC, told them the star had been “cancelled” and “tried by social media”.
It was “easy” to lie about Spacey, Mr Gibbs said: “A man who is promiscuous, not publicly out, although everyone in the businesses knows he’s gay, who wants to be just a normal guy, or at least some of the time he does – to drink beer and laugh and smoke weed and sit in the front and spend time with younger people who he’s attracted to…
“It’s not my life, it’s not your life, perhaps it’s a bit of an odd life, but it’s a life that makes you an easy target when the internet turns against you and you’re tried by social media.”
‘Does this verdict allow Kevin Spacey to be Kevin Spacey?’
Now, Spacey has been found not guilty. Does this mean he can revive his career?
“The verdict is a major victory for Spacey in clearing his name,” said US celebrity lawyer Christopher Melcher. “Although he faced four accusers who told similar accounts of sexually aggressive behaviour, Spacey steadfastly maintained his innocence.
“The verdict supports Spacey’s denials of the accusations and provides a clear path for him to return to work as an actor. Producers are able to work with Spacey because he has been acquitted, which lessens their exposure if he is hired.”
However, celebrity PR and brand expert Mark Borkowski is not so sure.
“Certainly the result has put a lot of the sort of noise that’s surrounded this case behind him,” he said. “The question is, does this verdict allow Kevin Spacey to be Kevin Spacey? To be that iconic actor who has oodles of talent to regain his position as one of the A-listers of Hollywood?
“Sadly not. We live in a corporate world now and raising money, getting insurance, all those other factors exist on social media, where mainstream media has not got the same power.”
Before the court case, in an interview, Spacey said there were directors and producers “ready to hire me the moment I am cleared of these charges in London”.
Despite that happening, many filmmakers might still be wary of working with Spacey knowing any project could still be “dogged by negativity”, Mr Borkowski said.
Pic: AP/Chris Pizzello
“Kevin Spacey, if he wants to move forward, will be clinging to the hope that there is a radical independent filmmaker who is fearless, who has a wonderful script and a remarkable project with a number of actors who are willing to work on the project.
“And if it gets picked up on the independent movie circuit, you know where there are, how shall we say, countries like Italy, France, around the world that don’t have the same perceptions as an American or a British audience or a German audience might have on this, there could be people who think, oh, that’s been a commercial success, let’s think about the next project.
“But it won’t be a franchise movie, it will not be Disney or Marvel coming forward to take that on. It just is something that they would feel that is too dangerous in terms of negative publicity for their brand and some of the values that they project.”
The stories about Sir Elton John and Dame Judi Dench
During the trial, Sir Elton John – who was chairman of The Old Vic when Spacey was appointed – was called to give evidence, and the court also heard tales of Spacey teaching Dame Judi Dench to play ping pong; there was no avoiding the strange and surreal world of celebrity at the centre of the case.
The timings of the UK claims mostly coincided with the actor’s time working at the theatre. He was involved from 2001, and began his tenure as artistic director from 2003 to 2015. Signing him had been quite the coup, a chance to turn the venue’s fortunes around.
Alistair Smith, editor of entertainment newspaper The Stage, interviewed Spacey towards the beginning of his tenure at the theatre, after he arrived as “a sort of Old Vic saviour figure” after a period in which it struggled financially.
“Previously, there was a real threat to its future,” says Smith. “There was talk of it turning into a bingo hall or even a lap dancing club… [Spacey] coming in brought a lot more attention to it, it brought funding, it brought sponsors, and attention in the media. And so there was, when he joined, quite a lot of excitement about it.”
Spacey’s arrival was seen as a chance to revive an important theatrical institution, and people in the industry were excited to have a Hollywood star committing to London theatre.
Things didn’t start well, but improved as Spacey performed more himself. By the time he left, the Old Vic “was financially secure and had rebuilt its artistic reputation”. For a period, he had re-established the venue as one of London’s leading theatres.
Whatever the verdict, there were accounts of ‘inappropriate conduct in the workplace’
But in November 2017, shortly after the allegations came out in the US, the Old Vic said it had received 20 allegations of inappropriate behaviour made against Spacey. Only one of the claims was reported, an investigation found, but staff were “unclear about how to respond”.
In the wake of the scandal, the theatre implemented a “Guardians” programme, designed to allow employees a confidential means of sharing concerns about behaviour at work.
Despite the star now being cleared of criminal charges in the UK, the fallout from the accusations against him has still had a “massively damaging effect” on the venue’s reputation, Smith says.
“Even before this court case, this trial, the 20 allegations against Kevin Spacey that came out of the Old Vic’s own investigation in 2017, I think had raised some very serious questions about the Old Vic and how it handled having a star at its helm over that period.”
Paul Fleming, general secretary of actors’ union Equity, says that despite the verdict, “nobody who is poorly treated in a workplace should ever be put in the position of having to bring something to a criminal trial”.
He told Sky News: “There should be processes in a workplace to keep them healthy and safe. And that duty rests with the employer. I’m not convinced, six years on, that theatre producers, TV producers, film producers, have put in place robust enough systems to prevent allegations like this arising significantly after the event.”
Mr Fleming said that there has been movement since the rise of #MeToo, but not enough. “There is no doubt that there are a series of accounts of inappropriate conduct in the workplace,” he said. “Whether they’re criminal or not has been a matter for the courts. The fact of the matter is there’s a lot of behaviour that is inappropriate, that is unsafe in the workplace, that there should be processes in place to allow people to resolve them.”
For Spacey, these claims have overshadowed his once glittering acting career for six years – but all criminal charges are now behind him. After telling the court how he lost his work and his fortune, it’s likely the star will be hoping this verdict can finally signal his Hollywood return.
The UK’s Supreme Court is set to deliver a landmark ruling today that could have billion-pound consequences for banks and impact millions of motorists.
The essential question that the country’s top court has been asked to answer is this: should customers be fully informed about the commission dealers earn on their purchase?
However, the Supreme Court is only considering one of two cases running in parallel regarding the mis-selling of car finance.
Here is everything you need to know about both cases, and how the ruling this afternoon may (or may not) affect any future compensation scheme.
PA file pic
What is the Supreme Court considering?
The Supreme Court case concerns complaints related to the non-disclosure of commission. This applies to 99% of car finance cases.
When you buy a car on finance, you are effectively loaned the money, which you pay off in monthly instalments. These loans carry interest, organised by the brokers (the people who sell you the finance plan).
These brokers earn money in the form of a commission (which is a percentage of the interest payments).
Last year, the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of three motorists who were not informed that the car dealerships they agreed finance deals with were also being paid 25% commission, which was then added to their bills.
The ruling said it was unlawful for the car dealers to receive a commission from lenders without obtaining the customer’s informed consent to the payment.
However, British lender Close Brothers and South Africa’s FirstRand appealed the decision, landing it in the Supreme Court.
Pic: iStock
What does the second case involve?
The second case is being driven by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and involves discretionary commission arrangements (DCAs).
Under these arrangements, brokers and dealers increased the amount of interest they earned without telling buyers and received more commission for it. This is said to have incentivised sellers to maximise interest rates.
The FCA banned this practice in 2021. However, a high number of consumers have complained they were overcharged before the ban came into force. The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) said in May that they were dealing with 20,000 complaints.
In January 2024, the FCA announced a review into whether motor finance customers had been overcharged because of past use of DCAs. It is using its powers to review historical motor finance commission arrangements across multiple firms – all of whom deny acting inappropriately.
The FCA also said it is looking into a “consumer redress scheme” that means firms would need to offer appropriate compensation to customers affected by the issue.
An estimated 40% of car finance deals are likely to be eligible for compensation over motor finance deals taken out between 2007 and 2021, when the DCAs were banned.
To find out how you can tell if you’ve been mis-sold car finance, read the following explainer from our reporter Megan Harwood-Baynes.
Read more from the Sky News Money blog
Pic: iStock
How does the ruling affect potential compensation?
In short, the Supreme Court ruling could impact the scale and reach that a compensation scheme is likely to have.
The FCA said in March that it will consider the court’s decision and if it concludes motor finance customers have lost out from widespread failings by firms, it is “likely [to] consult on an industry-wide redress scheme”.
This would mean affected individuals wouldn’t need to complain, but they would be paid out an amount dictated by the FCA.
However, no matter what the court decides, the FCA could go ahead with a redress scheme.
The regulator said it will confirm if it is proposing a scheme within six weeks of the Supreme Court’s decision.
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What impact could this have on lenders?
Analysts at HSBC said last year the controversy could be estimated to cost up to £44bn.
Alongside Close Brothers, firms that could be affected include Barclays, Santander and the UK’s largest motor finance provider Lloyds Banking Group – which organises loans through its Black Horse finance arm.
Lloyds has already set aside £1.2bn to be used for potential compensation.
The potential impact on the lending market and the wider economy could be so great that Chancellor Rachel Reeves is considering intervening to overrule the Supreme Court, according to The Guardian.
Treasury officials have been looking at the potential of passing new legislation alongside the Department for Business and Trade that could slash the potential compensation bill.
The Treasury said in response to the claim that it does not “comment on speculation” but hopes to see a “balanced judgment”.
Heathrow Airport has said it can build a third runway for £21bn within the next decade.
Europe’s busiest travel hub has submitted its plans to the government – with opponents raising concerns about carbon emissions, noise pollution and environmental impacts.
The west London airport wants permission to create a 3,500m (11,400ft) runway, but insists it is open to considering a shorter one instead.
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January: Third runway ‘badly needed’
In January, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that the government supports a “badly needed” expansion to connect the UK to the world and open up new growth opportunities.
But London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan is still against a new runway because of “the severe impact” it will have on the capital’s residents.
Under Heathrow’s proposal, the runway would be constructed to the northwest of its existing location – allowing for an additional 276,000 flights per year.
The airport also wants to create new terminal capacity for 150 million annual passengers – up from 84 million – with plans involving a new terminal complex named T5XW and T5XN.
Terminal 2 would be extended, while Terminal 3 and the old Terminal 1 would be demolished.
The runway would be privately funded, with the total plan costing about £49bn, but some airlines have expressed concern that the airport will hike its passenger charges to pay for the project.
EasyJet chief executive Kenton Jarvis said an expansion would “represent a unique opportunity for easyJet to operate from the airport at scale for the first time and bring with it lower fares for consumers”.
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A long history of Heathrow’s third runway plans
Thomas Woldbye, the airport’s chief executive, said in a statement that “it has never been more important or urgent to expand Heathrow”.
“We are effectively operating at capacity to the detriment of trade and connectivity,” he added.
“With a green light from government and the correct policy support underpinned by a fit-for-purpose, regulatory model, we are ready to mobilise and start investing this year in our supply chain across the country.
“We are uniquely placed to do this for the country. It is time to clear the way for take-off.”
The M25 motorway would need to be moved into a tunnel under the new runway under the airport’s proposal.
Pic: Reuters
London mayor still opposed
Sir Sadiq says City Hall will “carefully scrutinise” the proposals, adding: “I’ll be keeping all options on the table in how we respond.”
Tony Bosworth, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, also said that if Sir Keir Starmer wants to be “seen as a climate leader”, then backing Heathrow expansion is “the wrong move”.
Earlier this year, Longford resident Christian Hughes told Sky News that his village and others nearby would be “decimated” if an expansion were to go ahead.
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January: Village to be levelled for new runway
It comes after hotel tycoon Surinder Arora published a rival Heathrow expansion plan, which involves a shorter runway to avoid the need to divert the M25 motorway.
The billionaire’s Arora Group said a 2,800m (9,200ft) runway would result in “reduced risk” and avoid “spiralling cost”.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander will consider all plans over the summer so that a review of the Airports National Policy Statement can begin later this year.
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It also comes after Sky News reported on a Heathrow Airport-funded group sending leaflets supporting a third runway to thousands of homes across west London.
The group, called Back Heathrow, sent leaflets to people living near the airport, claiming expansion could be the route to a “greener” airport and suggesting it would mean only the “cleanest and quietest aircraft” fly there.
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Who’s behind these Heathrow leaflets?
Opponents of the airport’s expansion said the information provided by the group is “incredibly misleading”.
Back Heathrow told Sky News it had “always been open” about the support it receives from the airport. The funding is not disclosed on Back Heathrow’s newsletter or website.
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