Kevin Spacey Trial: Actor’s Testimony Reveals Gentle Encounters & Accusations of Sexual Assault

2023-07-13 13:10:56

Kevin Spacey told a British jury on Thursday that he was “a big flirt” who had what he characterized as gentle, touching and romantic encounters with a man who later accused him of sexual assault.

He always respected the man’s boundaries, Mr. Spacey said, adding that he felt “crushed” by the accusations.

Two weeks into a sexual assault trial in London once morest the Oscar- and Tony Award-winning actor, Mr. Spacey’s testimony on Thursday was the first time that the jury heard from him directly.

Mr. Spacey, 63, has pleaded not guilty to 12 charges relating to incidents that the prosecution says involved four men and occurred from 2001 to 2013. For most of that time, Mr. Spacey was the artistic director of the Old Vic theater in London.

Sitting at the front of a courtroom at Southwark Crown Court and facing the jury, Mr. Spacey — who was wearing a gray suit, and light blue tie — was mostly calm, and occasionally joked with his legal representative, Patrick Gibbs.

Opening the trial last month, Christine Agnew, a British prosecutor, told the jury that Mr. Spacey was “a sexual bully” who “delights in making others feel powerless and uncomfortable.” He had repeatedly groped men, Ms. Agnew said. On one occasion, Ms. Agnew added, Mr. Spacey gave a man oral sex without that man’s consent.

In the days following Ms. Agnew’s opening speech on June 30, the jury heard from the four anonymous complainants. Under British law, it is illegal for anyone to identify complainants in sexual assault cases, or to publish information that may cause them to be identified. The jury first watched recordings of interviews that each complainant gave to British police officers, then the accuser was cross-examined in the courthouse.

The first complainant said in his police interview that, in the early 2000s, Mr. Spacey touched him multiple times. On one occasion, the complainant said, he was driving with Mr. Spacey to a ball when the actor grabbed his genitals so hard that he almost veered off the road.

On Thursday, the day’s opening session focused on Mr. Spacey’s recollection of those encounters and the actor discussed his relationship with that complainant. Leaning back in his chair and sounding wistful, he said the man was “friendly and charming and flirtatious.”

The pair’s encounters gradually “became somewhat sexual,” Mr. Spacey said, adding that this most likely occurred at the actor’s own initiation. Mr. Spacey said the pair never had sex. The complainant “made it clear he didn’t want to go any further,” Mr. Spacey added. He said he had respected the complainant’s boundaries.

Later, Mr. Spacey was asked regarding another complainant who told the police that he met Mr. Spacey at a charity event in 2005 and that Mr. Spacey made lewd comments to him. The complainant said Mr. Spacey went on to grab his genitals with such force that it felt “like a cobra” taking hold.

Mr. Spacey said those events “never happened,” and characterized the man’s account of the night as “madness.” The actor said that he had little recollection of the charity gala, but that he would never do anything to “embarrass myself in such a way” at a public event.

Mr. Spacey’s legal representative then turned to the accusations of a third complainant, an aspiring actor. That man told the police that, one night in August 2008, he visited Mr. Spacey’s apartment and fell asleep. When he woke, he said, he discovered the actor performing oral sex on him. He said he then pushed Mr. Spacey away, and Mr. Spacey asked him to leave.

Mr. Spacey said he believed he had enjoyed a “very nice and lovely” evening with the complainant. He said that the man became “awkward and fumbling” following the oral sex, and “hurriedly left,” as if he regretted the encounter. Mr. Spacey, whose voice rose in volume and speed as he discussed the incident, said he telephoned the complainant shortly followingward to check on his welfare, as his phone records showed. The pair later exchanged text messages, Mr. Spacey said.

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