Rapp Says He Was 14 Years Old When 26-Year Old Spacey Made Sexual Advance

At midnight Sunday actor Kevin Spacey responded to an accusation by fellow actor Anthony Rapp made in a Buzzfeed article published two-and-a-half hours earlier. Rapp said Spacey made a sexual advance toward him when he was just 14 years old. Spacey at the time, 1986, would have been just 26. Spacey says he does not remember but says he was drunk, and apologizes “if I did behave then as he describes.” Spacey also for the first time acknowledged he is gay, and many are angered he is using this moment to deflect from the allegation, while appearing to conflate being gay with pedophilia or sexual assault.

“Rapp is publicly alleging for the first time that in 1986, Spacey befriended Rapp while they both performed on Broadway shows, invited Rapp over to his apartment for a party, and, at the end of the night, picked Rapp up, placed him on his bed, and climbed on top of him, making a sexual advance,” Buzzfeed reports.

“My stomach churns,” Rapp told Buzzfeed. “I still to this day can’t wrap my head around so many aspects of it. It’s just deeply confusing to me.”

“At some point, Rapp said he turned to see Spacey standing at the bedroom door. And that’s when he first realized that everyone else had left the party. They were alone.”

“My memory was that I thought, Oh, everybody’s gone. Well, yeah, I should probably go home,” Rapp said. Spacey, he recalled, “sort of stood in the doorway, kind of swaying. My impression when he came in the room was that he was drunk.” Rapp doesn’t remember Spacey saying anything to him. Instead, Rapp said, “He picked me up like a groom picks up the bride over the threshold. But I don’t, like, squirm away initially, because I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ And then he lays down on top of me.”

“He was trying to seduce me,” Rapp said. “I don’t know if I would have used that language. But I was aware that he was trying to get with me sexually.”

Rapp recalled this all happening — Spacey appearing at the door, coming into the room, picking him up, and putting him on the bed — in one clumsy action, with Spacey landing at a slight angle on top of him. He said Spacey “was, like, pressing into me,” and that he remembers Spacey “tightening his arms.” But while he can’t recall exactly how long Spacey remained on top of him, Rapp said he was able to “squirm” away after a short period.

Via Twitter, Spacey posted this statement:

“I have a lot of respect and admiration for Anthony Rapp as an actor,” Spacey said. “I am beyond horrified to hear his story. I honestly do not remember the encounter, it would have been over 30 years ago. But if I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior, and I am sorry for the feelings he describes having carried with him all these years.

“This story has encouraged me to address other things about my life,” he continued. “I know that there are stories out there about me and that some have been fueled by the fact that I have been so protective of my privacy. As those closest to me know, in my life I have had relationships with both men and women. I have loved and had romantic encounters with men throughout my life, and I chose now to live as a gay man. I want to deal with this honestly and openly and that starts with examining my own behavior.”

pic.twitter.com/X6ybi5atr5

— Kevin Spacey (@KevinSpacey) October 30, 2017

Some are pointing to headlines that seem to focus on Spacey coming out rather than the accusation of a sexual advance made on a minor. Others, like The Daily Beast‘s Ira Madison III, say the timing of Spacey’s coming out “couldn’t have been worse.”

Spacey choosing now to come out, in order to spin Rapp’s sexual assault allegation, is underhanded behavior worthy of his character Frank Underwood on House of Cards.

Spacey has changed the narrative of him allegedly assaulting a 14-year-old boy, put on Jamie Foxx’s “Blame it on the Alcohol,” and ended it with, “oh, by the way, I’m gay!” There’s never truly a wrong time to come out and I’d never begrudge anyone for accepting their sexuality. But the seediness of using your coming out to deflect from a sexual assault allegation is something else entirely. Already, headlines have ignored Rapp’s allegations for claptrap like ABC News’ since-edited story that at first read: “Kevin Spacey comes out in emotional tweet.” Several other outlets also led with the fact that Spacey has come out of the closet, rather than the fact that he came out in response to Rapp’s disturbing allegation. Beyond altering the narrative, Spacey’s statement grossly conflates pedophilia and homosexuality.

For Spacey to say that he now chooses to be gay also insinuates that it’s a decision someone can switch on and off. For him to speak up about it now, amidst these allegations, implies that being gay is a shameful secret you must keep hidden. Furthermore, the decision to switch it on now after vehemently refusing to come out for years makes the decision all the more cold and calculated. It will absolutely overshadow Rapp’s story, which is exactly what Spacey was counting on. At least now we know why Spacey has fiercely guarded his “private life,” as he calls it. He was merely safeguarding his most powerful weapon until he could use it on Rapp and the gay community he now claims he has chosen to be a part of.

On Twitter, others offered similar statements:

Author, activist, Dan Savage:

Nope to Kevin Spacey’s statement. Nope. There’s no amount of drunk or closeted that excuses or explains away assaulting a 14-year-old child.

— Dan Savage (@fakedansavage) October 30, 2017

Vanity Fair Film Critic Richard Lawson:

This exposes the gay community to a million tired old criticisms and conspiracies.

— Richard Lawson (@rilaws) October 30, 2017

How dare you implicate us all in this

— Richard Lawson (@rilaws) October 30, 2017

Actor Billy Eichner:

Kevin Spacey has just invented something that has never existed before: a bad time to come out.

— billy eichner (@billyeichner) October 30, 2017

Harvard Law professor Laurence Tribe:

Especially sad is how Spacey’s coming out in this way feeds into stereotype of gay men as predators https://t.co/GnlYpbAfzj via @adambvary

— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) October 30, 2017

Former Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama Valerie Jarrett:

Saying you are “choosing” to live as a gay man will not deflect from allegations of sexual assault of a minor. https://t.co/ycBLfGbzVn

— Valerie Jarrett (@ValerieJarrett) October 30, 2017

Comedian Cameron Esposito:

Just wanna be really fucking clear that being gay has nothing to do w/ going after underage folks

— Cameron Esposito (@cameronesposito) October 30, 2017

Others:

Kevin Spacey has set gay rights back fifty years by a) conflating homosexuality with paedophilia and b) Saying that being gay is a “choice.”

— Eden Adder Calvary (@EACalvary) October 30, 2017

Shoutout to the LGBT community for condemning Kevin Spacey

Sexuality is not an excuse/distraction for criminal behaviour pic.twitter.com/phg9CkQy2u

— Rachel🎃 (@rachelcantsleep) October 30, 2017

In my part of the world many still face violence & jail every day because of homophobic propaganda effectively linking homosexuality & pedophilia.
How dare you, Kevin Spacey

— Maxim Eristavi (@MaximEristavi) October 30, 2017

Alternate headline: “Actor Kevin Spacey declares he lives his life as a pedophile and a sexual predator.” https://t.co/ohTwWFhPpq

— Donna Edwards (@DonnaFEdwards) October 30, 2017

Oh wow. Kevin Spacey deflecting from attempting to molest a child by coming out as gay is the absolute pits.

— Owen Jones🌹 (@OwenJones84) October 30, 2017

To comment on this article and other NCRM content, visit our Facebook page.

Image by Alexander Kluge via Flickr and a CC license

If you find NCRM valuable, would you please consider making a donation to support our independent journalism?