A jury in London on Wednesday acquitted
actor Kevin Spacey of sexual assault charges.
One man accused Spacey of performing
oral sex on him after he fell asleep or passed out in Spacey's
apartment in London. The aspiring actor said that he was seeking
career advice from Spacey.
Three men said that Spacey had groped
their crotches.
A string of accusations against Spacey
were unleashed after Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp
in 2017 accused him of sexual misconduct when the two actors were
working on Broadway and Rapp was 14. In response, Spacey, for the
first time publicly, announced that he is gay.
Last year, Spacey beat the $40 million
lawsuit brought by Rapp. Other allegations in Massachusetts and
California never reached a courtroom.
Speaking with reporters after the
verdict was announced, Spacey thanked the jury for “taking the time
to examine all of the evidence and all of the facts carefully before
they reached their decision.”
In the six years since the allegations
surfaced, Spacey has barely worked as an actor. He was fired from his
starring role in the Netflix drama House of Cards,
and he was replaced by Christopher Plummer in the 2017 film All
the Money in the World.
Mark Stephens, a
London media lawyer, told the AP that Spacey can now resume his
career “without a stain on his character” and that he's likely to
be “snapped up by Hollywood producers desperate to get on and make
new movies.”