After calling the accusations against him "madness" and accused the accusers of "lying for money," Kevin Spacey sobbed today as he was found not guilty of sexually assaulting four men. Continue reading
Following an astonishing star-studded trial where Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish spoke in his defence, the American multiple Oscar winner was overtaken with emotion and broke down in the dock as he was declared innocent of all counts.
Spacey, who turns 64 today, was charged with using his notoriety and position to commit nine s**x assaults against four men while serving as artistic director of the Old Vic theatre in London.
In addition to shattering the singer's once-glamourous Hollywood career, the claims had significant financial repercussions as well; after being fired, the House of Cards producers required the star to pay them £25.5 million.
In addition, he was humiliated by being cut from Sir Ridley Scott's movie All The Money in the World and was forced to pay at least £1 million in legal fees. Spacey had already told the jury during the trial, "I've lost everything."
After being ignored by Hollywood for the past six years, the verdict suggests that Spacey may soon make a comeback to our screens.
After the court session was over, Spacey gave his PR staff and solicitors hugs in appreciation for the not guilty verdicts. He smiled joyously at his barrister Patrick Gibbs, KC, as they shook hands.
Mr. Justice Wall, incensed by the revelry in the audience, threatened to eject the spectators if they didn't stop responding.
The judge thanked the jury and said, "Every case I have to handle has its own difficulties."
"In your case, the pressure came from the fact that you were like fish in a goldfish bowl because this was a case garnering significant attention."
In 2017, after being accused of making sexual attempts towards American actor Anthony Rapp when he was just 14 years old, Spacey—possibly the most well-known victim of the Me Too Movement—had said that his "world exploded" and he "lost everything in a matter of days."
The accusation, which Spacey was eventually found not guilty of, sparked a wave of complaints from at least 30 men in the United States and Great Britain.
Although Spacey was allegedly acting inappropriately towards 20 men, according to an Old Vic review, he was never found guilty of a crime.
The House of Cards actor was accused by the Crown Prosecution Service of a string of sex assaults on four men between 2001 and 2013 following a five-year Scotland Yard investigation.
However, Spacey insisted that his accusers were driven by "money, money, and then money." One accuser even filed a claim for £500,000 in damages.
It took the nine male and three female jurors 12 hours and 26 minutes to deliver their verdict.
The actor Spacey, who was dressed in a dark suit, blotted his eyes with a tissue as the jury exonerated him on all counts.
Between 2001 and 2004, there were three accused indecent assaults and four alleged sexual assaults. He was accused of five additional offences, which date from 2005 to 2013.
Spacey adamantly maintained his innocence throughout the whole trial, denying all of the accusations.