Actor Kevin Spacey leaves the National Museum of Cinema in Turin, Italy, Friday, Jan. 13, 2023. Kevin Spacey pleaded not guilty in a British court Friday to seven more sexual assault charges. – Photo: AP
Kevin Spacey pleaded not guilty in a British court Friday to seven more sexual assault charges.
The Oscar- and Tony-winning actor appeared via video link at London’s Southwark Crown Court, confirmed his full legal name, Kevin Spacey Fowler, and denied all the accusations against him, Reuters reported.
Spacey, 63, is charged with 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 charges were brought by the same person, a man who alleges the offenses
The Juilliard-trained actor, who was born in South Orange, New Jersey, served as the artistic director for London’s prestigious Old Vic theater from 2004 until 2015.
In July, he pleaded not guilty to five other sexual assault charges at London’s Old Bailey court. Those charges stem from accusations brought by three men who alleged they were assaulted in London between 2005 and 2008.
Altogether, Spacey faces 12 charges in the U.K. His trial is scheduled to begin in June and is expected to last for about four weeks.
The once-celebrated Hollywood star’s career came to a halt in 2017 after fellow actor Anthony Rapp accused him of making sexual advances toward him at a party in 1986, when Rapp was a teenager.
The explosive allegations, which came out at the beginning of the #MeToo movement, led Spacey to publicly say he is gay. The timing of his coming out, however, was criticised by some members of the LGBTQ community. Several openly LGBTQ celebrities felt the revelation was simply an attempt to deflect attention on the accusations.
More than a dozen alleged victims have since come forward with similar accusations, including the 21-year-old son of Boston anchorwoman Heather Unruh. In June 2012 he filed a lawsuit accusing the embattled actor of "touching and fondling” him in Nantucket, Massachusetts, in July 2016. The suit was six days after it was filed.
Late last year, a Manhattan jury in a civil suit brought by Rapp.
On Monday, the House of Cards star will be honored by the National Cinema Museum in Turin, Italy, where he will give a masterclass "dedicated to some of his most memorable roles” and receive the "the Stella della Mole Award,” according to a news release.
Spacey is a "chameleonic star of contemporary world cinema” and "unquestionably one of the most talented and celebrated actors of his generation,” the museum said. – dpa
