Kevin Spacey says he was ‘too handsy’ in the past
Actor Kevin Spacey has admitted to “being too handsy” in a new interview.
In a conversation with Piers Morgan, the 64-year-old acknowledged “pushing the boundaries” regarding the allegations of inappropriate behavior that halted his career in 2017.
Last year, a London trial found Spacey not guilty of all charges of sexual assault against four men between 2001 and 2013. Additionally, a US court dismissed a sexual assault lawsuit against him in 2022.
Spacey is currently involved in a civil trial over a 2008 sexual assault allegation, which he denies.
Spacey revealed that his Baltimore home, where he has lived since 2016, is being foreclosed and sold at auction due to his inability to pay the “many millions” in legal bills.
The interview, aired on the Piers Morgan Uncensored YouTube channel, featured Spacey’s reflections on his past behavior.
When asked to elaborate on “pushing the boundaries,” the double Oscar winner explained: “Being too handsy, touching someone sexually in a way that I didn’t know at the time they didn’t want.”
When pressed about the potential criminal nature of his conduct, Spacey stated he has “been gentle with people” and would not describe his actions as “groping.”
“You want to be gentle. You want to see if they’re going to respond positively,” he added.
Morgan asked, “Would you say all of that was consensual or was it an attempt at seduction, that if it was repelled, by definition becomes I guess non-consensual, that if you’re being handsy, if you’re groping people, and they don’t want to do it…”
Spacey replied: “… then they should let you know they don’t want to do it so that you can understand it’s non-consensual and stop.”
When questioned about young actors fearing career damage if they rejected his advances, Spacey said: “Yes.”
The actor expressed his readiness to “take accountability” for some of his past actions, describing them as “bad, bad, bad behavior,” but also claimed that “a whole lot of people” have made false accusations against him.
In May, Spacey denied new allegations presented in the Channel 4 documentary Spacey Unmasked. Actors Ruari Cannon and Danny De Lillo both alleged inappropriate behavior by Spacey in the documentary. Cannon claimed Spacey touched him inappropriately in public at a 2013 press night for an Old Vic theatre production, which Spacey called “ridiculous and it never happened.” De Lillo alleged Spacey thrust his groin towards his face while he was seated at the same theatre, an accusation Spacey found “completely offensive.”
After the documentary was broadcast, a group of Hollywood stars including Sharon Stone, Stephen Fry, and Liam Neeson called for Mr Spacey to be allowed to return to acting.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Ms Stone said: “I can’t wait to see Kevin back at work. He is a genius.”
Mr Spacey won the Oscar for best actor for American Beauty in 2000, and for best supporting actor for The Usual Suspects in 1995.
He was also the artistic director at the Old Vic Theatre in London between 2004 and 2015.
In a statement, the Old Vic said it had conducted an investigation in 2017 into alleged inappropriate conduct by Mr Spacey at the theatre between 2005 and 2013. It said there were “no findings of fact” regarding the actor’s alleged misconduct, and no evidence of formal complaints against him.
Mr Spacey was sacked while filming the Netflix series House of Cards after the first allegations against him emerged in 2017.
His scenes from the then-upcoming Ridley Scott film All the Money in the World were erased and reshot with Canadian actor Christopher Plummer replacing him.
