Kevin Spacey faces trial for harassing actor Anthony Rapp

According to Rapp, Spacey took action to gratify his sexual desire during a party date in 1986, when he was 14.

The first trial against actor Kevin Spacey (“House of Cards”) for abuse will begin on Thursday (10/6) in New York. The case focuses on the allegations made by actor Anthony Rapp (star of “Star Trek: Discovery”), who five years ago publicly accused Spacey of molesting him when he was a minor.

The trial will focus on allegations of violence and intentional infliction of emotional distress, but not the stronger allegations of sexual harassment, which were dropped in June by statute of limitations. Rapp is asking for $ 40 million in punitive and compensatory damages.

According to Rapp’s indictment, Spacey took action to gratify his sexual desire during a date at a Manhattan party in 1986, when he was only 14 and Spacey 26 or 27.

The case came to light in 2017, when the BuzzFeed website published an interview with Rapp, in which he recounted what happened. According to the actor, Spacey was drunk and grabbed him, put him on a bed, climbed on top of him and made sexual advances (touching his buttocks).

Shortly after the story was published, Spacey posted a post on his Twitter saying he did not remember anything of what was reported. “If I have behaved as he describes, I owe him my sincere apologies for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior, and I regret the feelings he describes having carried all these years,” he wrote, who caught an opportunity to declare himself gay. .

Initially, Rapp had given up on suing Spacey because he had refused to name his attacker in the lawsuit. And after the encouragement of the #MeToo movement, it was too late and the initial process was scrapped. Additionally, Spacey’s defense argued that the incident was not characterized as sexual abuse.

“Mr. Rapp states that Mr. Fowler [sobrenome real de Spacey] raised it, that Mr. Fowler’s hand “shaved” Mr. Rapp’s clothed buttocks for seconds as he did so, that Mr. Fowler laid Mr. Rapp supine on a bed, and Mr. Fowler then briefly placed his partially clothed body beside and partially on that of Mr. Rapp, “states a case paper.

Rapp himself stated in a statement that “there were no kisses, no one undressed, no clothes were touched and there were no sexualized statements or innuendo.”

Based on this, Spacey’s lawyers argued that Rapp’s lawsuit should be dismissed, as the law “requires” that a prosecutor must “squeeze, grab, or pinch a sexual or other private part” for the prosecution of abuse may be filed. qualify under New York law.

“The actor’s allegations amount to an allegation that Fowler surprised him by lifting him up, putting him on a bed and putting some of his body weight against him, before the actor ‘squirmed’ without resistance,” the document said.

However, Rapp’s lawyers cited two New York state cases in which men were convicted of third-degree sexual abuse after “rubbing” women’s buttocks on subway cars. At the time, they had their hands outstretched for the purpose of sexual gratification.

Spacey’s trial could produce some unexpected witnesses, as court documents hinted that witnesses involved in the production of “House of Cards” could be called to testify.

Spacey was dropped from the series after allegations surfaced, which led to the crew members making their own allegations. He also lost the role in the movie “All the Money in the World” (2017), having been replaced by Christopher Plummer after the film was ready – shooting occurs in an accelerated fashion so that the film does not miss the release date.

The actor has already been sentenced to pay $ 31 million in damages to production company MCR for the cancellation of the “House of Cards” series, with the judge on the case finding that his behavior was responsible for Netflix’s decision to ending the award-winning series.

But he had not yet been tried for a harassment complaint.

Up until then he had been very lucky. Two accusers who prosecuted him died before their cases reached the courts. Norwegian writer Ari Behn, ex-husband of the Princess of Norway, committed suicide at Christmas 2019, three months after the sudden death of a masseuse accusing the actor.

Finally, he had another lawsuit, filed by a boy who was 18 at the time of the harassment, abruptly withdrawn on the eve of the trial.

Thanks to the lack of conviction, Spacey was able to return to acting. He starred in an Italian film, “L’Uomo che Disegnò Diò”, directed and starring star Franco Nero, and played a villain in the low-budget film “Peter Five Eight”, which was brought to the Marché du Film, the Cannes Film Festival business to obtain international distributors.

But this year, he again faced sexual abuse charges in British justice. He pleaded not guilty in July at the preliminary hearing of the trial, which won’t take place until 2024.

In addition to Spacey, director Paul Haggis (“Crash”) is facing a rape charge filed by publicist Haleigh Breest. Haggis’ case will also be tried in New York. In Los Angeles, producer Harvey Weinstein (“The Hateful Eight”) and actor Danny Masterson (“That ’70s Show”) also face criminal charges.

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Source: Terra

Emily

Emily Jhon is a product and service reviewer at Gossipify, known for her honest evaluations and thorough analysis. With a background in marketing and consumer research, she offers valuable insights to readers. She has been writing for Gossipify for several years and has a degree in Marketing and Consumer Research from the University of Oxford.