Kevin Spacey’s trial has started in a London court. The 12 charges against him include sexual assault, indecent assault and causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent. He denies all the allegations, and his lawyer has suggested the accusers are looking for payouts from Spacey.
Giving testimony yesterday, the American actor best known for his starring role in the blockbuster and critically acclaimed television series, House of Cards, declared himself completely innocent of all charges and said he was “crushed” by the allegations made by one of the complainants, while he called another complainant’s claims “madness.”
The alleged acts of sexual assault took place between 2001 and 2013. The four men, all living in the UK, came forward independently with their allegations.
One of the complainants alleges that Spacey touched him while he drove him to a showbiz party in the early 2000s, according to BBC News.
While the complainant saw the touching as a sexual assault, Spacey told the jury, “in my mind [it was] romantic,” adding that he was “somewhat intimate” with the alleged victim.
Spacey also said he had developed a “flirtatious relationship” with the complainant and he touched the man in “romantic” and “intimate” ways. “Yeah, I am a big flirt,” he told the court, according to BBC News.
“It did not happen in a violent, aggressive, painful way,” he continued “It was gentle … and it was, in my mind, romantic.”
In effect, Spacey did not deny the allegation but put a different spin on it. What was an assault to the victim was a “romantic act” to the accused actor.
Spacey then went on to say that he did not take things to the next level because the alleged victim “made it clear that he did not want to go any further.”
The actor also said he was “crushed” by the allegations made by the complainant. “I never thought the [name of man] I knew over 20 years later would stab me in the back,” he said.
The individual also alleges on one occasion that Spacey grabbed his crotch so hard while he was driving that he almost drove off the road, per BBC News.
This particular charge caused a flat denial from Spacey, saying, that he was “not on a suicide mission.”
Spacey was also questioned about allegations made by another of the complainants, who alleges an incident took place in a West End theater, when the Hollywood star grabbed his penis “like a cobra coming out and getting hold” and directed a “barrage of vile comments” of a sexual nature toward him.
The alleged victim said Spacey “smelled of booze” and grabbed him with “such force it was really painful,” adding: “It was aggressive. It wasn’t trying to be a seduction. It was angry.”
This charge as well elicited total denial and disbelief from Spacey, who said it is “madness,” because “it never happened.”
“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,” he said, per BBC News. In fact, when shown a photo of the complainant, and asked if he recognized him, Spacey denied even knowing him.
A fourth complainant accused Spacey of having drugged him and performing a sex act on him while he was asleep.
The alleged victims had strong words to describe Spacey during their evidence: “slippery,” “disgusting” and a “vile sexual predator”.
Spacey, meanwhile, sees himself as the victim of lies, deceit and a money grab: “I lost my reputation, I lost everything in a matter of days,” he says.
