Photo courtesy of NBC News.
Summary: Anthony Rapp claimed that actor Kevin Spacey tried to molest him in 1986 when he was still a teenager.
Broadway star Anthony Rapp revealed on Sunday that Kevin Spacey had allegedly tried to seduce him when he was 14-years-old. Spacey responded on Twitter that he didn’t remember the incident, and Netflix announced on Monday that they were canceling House of Cards as a response to the allegation.
Rapp, now 45, said to Buzzfeed News that when he was a teenager starring in a Broadway show he met Spacey, then 26. Spacey befriended Rapp and invited him to his home for a party. Rapp said that after the guests left, Spacey picked him up in a manner similar to a groom carrying his bride across the threshold. Then Spacey put Rapp on his bed.
Rapp said that Spacey climbed on top of him in an attempt to seduce him, but they did not have sex.
“I was aware that he was trying to get with me sexually,” Rapp told Buzzfeed News.
Rapp is currently starring in Star Trek Discovery but is best known for his role in Rent. Spacey has starred in blockbusters such as The Usual Suspects and American Beauty, and he was the lead of Netflix’s tentpole, House of Cards.
On Twitter, Spacey released a statement saying that he was “horrified” by Rapp’s story and did not remember it. He added that rumors about him swirled because he was in the closet, and he chose to disclose that he was gay. This admission was met with ire from Twitter users who felt he was “coming out” to deflect from the criminal allegation of pedophilia.
“As those closest to me know, in my life I have had relationships with both men and women,” Spacey said. “I have loved and had romantic encounters with men throughout my life, and I choose to live as a gay man.”
So far, Rapp has not accepted or rejected Spacey’s apology. However, he tweeted that he was inspired to come forward because of the many courageous women and men who have been speaking out”, most likely alluding to those who spoke out about Harvey Weinstein and other sexual abusers.
In early October, The New York Times published a damning piece that Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein had sexually harassed numerous women in the industry, including actress Ashley Judd. After the story was published, dozens of women such as Angelina Jolie and Asia Argento came forward to share their stories of harassment or rape from Weinstein.
The Weinstein scandal encouraged people who were victims from others to also come forward. For instance, Amazon Studios fired Roy Price after Man in the High Castle executive producer Isa Hackett accused him of sexual harassment, and the Agency of Performing Arts fired agent Tyler Grasham after male actors said he had promised them representation in exchange for sex.
“I’m feeling really awake to the moment that we’re living in, and I’m hopeful that this can make a difference,” Rapp said.
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