Kevin Spacey has responded to comments made by Guy Pearce about his behavior while on set of the 1997 neo-noir crime film L.A. Confidential, saying that Pearce should “grow up” and wasn’t a victim.
In a video post on X on Monday, Spacey addressed the comments, saying (via The Hollywood Reporter) that Pearce could have addressed any issues he had with Spacey while on set or at a later date. Spacey then said that his official response was to “grow up,” and alleged that Pearce would later go on to fly to Georgia while Spacey was filming the 1997 mystery thriller Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil to spend time with him.
“We worked together a long time ago,” Spacey said. “If I did something then that upset you, you could have reached out to me. We could have had that conversation, but instead, you’ve decided to speak to the press, who are now, of course, coming after me, because they would like to know what my response is to the things that you said. You really want to know what my response is? Grow up.
“I mean, did you tell the press that too, or does that not fit into the victim narrative you have going? I apologize that I didn’t get the message that you don’t like spending time with me. Maybe there was another reason, I don’t know, but that doesn’t make any sense. That you would have just been leading me on, right? But here you are now on a mission, some 28 years later, after I’ve been through hell and back. You want to have a conversation? I’m happy to do so, anytime, anyplace. We can even do it here, live on X, if you like. I’ve got nothing to hide. But Guy — you need to grow up. You are not a victim.”
What did Guy Pearce say about Kevin Spacey?
During a recent appearance on the Awards Chatter podcast with Scott Feinberg (via Entertainment Weekly), Pearce said his experience working with Spacey was not “okay” and that, while he wasn’t victimized to the extent that others alleged they were, he did consider himself a “victim to a degree.”
“Even though I probably was a victim to a degree, I was certainly not a victim by any means to the extent that other people have been to sexual predators,” Pearce began. “But I did that thing that you do where you brush it off and go, ‘Ah, that’s nothing. Ah, no, that’s nothing.’ And I did that for five months.”
Pearce went on to say that he tried his best to ignore any behavior by Spacey on set, but did admit he was “scared” of the actor due to his stature and presence whenever he was in a room. Despite this, Pearce said that Spacey “no question” targeted the young actor. The actor also said that the only days he felt safe on set were when actor Simon Baker was on set, but only because Spacey would focus his attention on the other actor.
“I was scared of Kevin because he’s quite an aggressive man and quite extremely charming and brilliant at what he does — really impressive, etc,” said Pearce. “He holds a room remarkably. But I was young and susceptible, and he targeted me, no question.
“The only days I feel safe is when [Simon Baker] is on set because I’m dumped like a hot potato, and [Kevin] focuses on [Simon] because he’s ten times prettier than I am.”
(Source: Entertainment Weekly)
