In a brief statement on Wednesday, actor Kevin Spacey spoke to the press following a U.K. jury finding him not guilty in his various sexual assault charges, saying he was “humbled by the decision.”
What happened to Kevin Spacey?
On Wednesday, a U.K. jury has found Kevin Spacey not guilty of nine charges of sexual assault, indecent assault, and causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity. Outside the courtroom, Spacey gave a brief statement to the press, saying he was “grateful to the jury,” while also thanking his legal team and those involved in the decision.
“I imagine that many of you can understand that there’s a lot for me to process after what has just happened today,” said Spacey (via Variety). “But I would like to say that I am enormously grateful to the jury for having taken the time to examine all of the evidence and all of the facts carefully before they reached the decision. And I am humbled by the outcome today. I also want to thank the staff inside this courthouse, the security and all those who took care of us every single day, my legal team … for being here every day and that’s all I have to say for the moment. Thank you very much.”
In total, Spacey had 12 charges against him, including sexual assault and indecent assault, with different charges alleged to have occurred in a range from 2001 all the way through 2013.
While Spacey denied all allegations, he also said that, due to the charges, he thinks people are “afraid” to support him.
Last year, a New York jury found that Spacey did not sexually assault actor Antony Rapp, who first came forward against Spacey in 2017. Spacey says the results in London should be similar to those in New York.
“The moment scrutiny is applied, these things fall apart,” Spacey said. “That’s what happened in the Rapp trial, and that’s what will happen in this case.”
Once heralded as a legendary actor, Spacey’s career came to a screeching halt in 2017 when he was accused of making sexual advances on then-14-year-old Anthony Rapp (who appeared in a Broadway show with Spacey) in 1986. More allegations came forward following that, leading to Netflix cutting ties with Spacey on their planned film Gore, as well as removing him from the final season of the series House of Cards.
