Kevin Spacey said to a court here on Monday that he struggled to come out publicly as gay because of his father’s racist, homophobic and anti-semitic views, reports ‘Variety’. “My father was a white supremacist and a neo-Nazi,” Spacey said of his father, Thomas Fowler. “I have never talked about these things publicly ever.” He added, “I grew up in a very complicated family dynamic.” The admission, according to ‘Variety’, came on the witness stand in New York City, where Kevin Spacey is facing off against American actor and singer Anthony Rapp in a $40-million civil lawsuit. Rapp claims Kevin Spacey made unwanted sexual advances against him in 1986 when Rapp was 14 years old. In his own testimony, Rapp has accused Spacey of being a fraud for not being openly gay.
“To call someone a fraud is to say someone is living a lie,” Spacey said, according to ‘Variety’. “I wasn’t living a lie. I was just reluctant to talk about my personal life.” Growing up, Kevin Spacey said his family moved around a lot because his father was frequently unemployed. He said he was “terrified” as a child and was “forced to listen” to his father’s racist and bigoted lectures, which prevented him from bringing friends to the house. He said when he told his father that he wanted to be an actor, he was told “don’t be an f-word”. (Spacey clarified that he did not want to say the word because it would be considered derogatory in a courtroom.)
On Monday, Kevin Spacey testified at a civil trial against him, where an alleged victim is seeking damages on the claim that the actor sexually assaulted him years ago. Kevin, during his cross-examination denied that he ever made a sexual pass at Anthony Rapp, who has sued the actor when he was 14 in the 1980s and the former was 26.
The trial, now in its third week, has Rapp seeking USD 40 million in damages from Kevin alleging he sexually assaulted him years ago. However, the actor has denied these charges. Rapp had alleged that Kevin had picked him up like a groom does a bride after a 1986 party and put him on his bed before lying on top of him. He testified and said that he squirmed from underneath Kevin in the fully-clothed encounter and escaped from the room, only to have Kevin ask him whether he was sure he wanted to leave the apartment.
Kevin on his part denied the claims and said, “In my heart, I did not believe this had happened.” He said he was “terrified” and went along with his handlers and had issued a statement in 2017 that read, “I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior.” However, during the testimony Kevin admitted that he did entertain the accuser and his friend actor John Barrowman, who was 19 at the time and in fact, he added that it was Barrowman in whom he had a romantic interest. He recalled dancing with Barrowman at Limelight dance club before inviting the two to his apartment afterward to see his dog.
He further said that Barrowman and he “playfully had a moment together” on his bed in that lasted about half an hour. Barrowman also testified in a disposition that was partially played in court and said that his friend, the accuser, was in the restroom when they flirted on the bed. Kevin also denied being alone with the accuser or making a pass at him.
Kevin Spacey was one of Hollywood’s most acclaimed actors, winning Oscars for his work in ‘The Usual Suspects’ and ‘American Beauty’, and starring in the Netflix series ‘House of Cards’. But after Rapp accused him of sexual assault in a 2017 BuzzFeed article, and other accusers made similar allegations against Spacey, his career imploded, ‘Variety’ adds.
(Source: IANS/AP)
