Update, May 31: Kevin Spacey proclaimed his innocence in a statement on the sexual-assault charges brought against him in the U.K., saying he plans to make a defense when the charges go to trial. “I will voluntarily appear in the U.K. as soon as can be arranged and defend myself against these charges, which I am confident will prove my innocence,†Spacey told Good Morning America while saying he is innocent until proven guilty under U.K. law.
Original story follows.
Kevin Spacey was sitting in court in New York City in an evidence hearing related to his New York sex-abuse case, when a set of separate charges came down from the U.K. The former House of Cards star was charged with four counts of sexual assault against three men, along with a count of causing someone to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent. According to CNN, the charges stem from two alleged 2005 incidents in London, two 2008 incidents in London, and one 2013 incident in Gloucestershire. It was pure coincidence for the charges to be announced while Spacey was in court in the U.S. for a hearing related to the sexual-assault lawsuit brought by Anthony Rapp, the actor who made the first of many assault claims against Spacey in 2017. From the U.S. courthouse, Spacey declined several times to comment on the U.K. charges.
The U.K. charges are the product of years of investigations, the first of which police announced in November 2017. Others were announced in the weeks and months afterward. Many of the charges in the U.K. are associated with Spacey’s tenure as artistic director of London’s Old Vic Theatre from 2004–15. Also in November 2017, the Old Vic said it had received 20 allegations of inappropriate behavior against Spacey, with the theater’s artistic director calling the claims a “shock and a disturbing surprise.†Spacey, an Oscar and Tony winner, has begun an attempted return to acting, most recently cast in the Hungarian historical drama 1242, for sale at Cannes.
Victoria Bekiempis contributed reporting.