Kevin Spacey has branded the #MeToo movement as ‘unfair’ and having “gone too far” as he called for his career to be uncancelled in the wake of further sexual misconduct allegations.
The actor gave the rare interview to US network NewsNation in the wake of the Channel 4 documentary Spacey Unmasked, which aired fresh allegations about the American Beauty star earlier this month.
Spacey claimed he now wants to “get back to work” and has “learned” from his experiences, adding he “paid a price” for his “mistakes”.
Speaking on the Chris Cuomo show, Spacey said: “I’ve listened. I’ve learned. I’ve got the memo. I’m not going to behave in any way in the future that is questionable.”
The actor added he’d spent the past “seven years” going “into myself” and having conversations with people he felt he “owed amends to”.
“But at a certain point, I just want to get back to work,” he added. “I feel very strongly that whatever mistakes I’ve made in my life, that I paid a price.”
Spacey claimed the #MeToo movement had “swung too far in the direction of unfairness” and he would “work hard” to be “uncancelled” by the public.
“I want to prove I’m a man of great character,” he said.
Spacey was last year acquitted of a number of sexual offences alleged by four men in the UK to have taken place between 2001 and 2013.
Each of Spacey’s accusers gave evidence in the trial, describing him as a “vile sexual predator”, “slippery” and “atrocious, despicable, [and] disgusting”.
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In response, the two-time Oscar winner described the allegations against him as “madness” and a “stab in the back”. The jury acquitted Spacey of all charges.
Spacey was one of the most recognisable faces in Hollywood when allegations of sexual misconduct were first made in 2017, leading streaming giant Netflix to cut ties with the then-star of House of Cards.
The actor Anthony Rapp was the first to accuse the Hollywood A-lister of misconduct, telling BuzzFeed News that Spacey tried “to seduce” him when he was just 14. In 2022, a New York jury dismissed Rapp’s claims of sexual abuse.
Channel 4’s recent documentary Spacey Unmasked interviewed 10 men not involved in the 2023 criminal trial.
Spacey described the claims as “anonymised and non-specific”, before writing off the programme as “a dying network’s one-sided ‘documentary’ about me in their desperate attempt for ratings”.
He added: “Each time I have been given the time and a proper forum to defend myself, the allegations have failed under scrutiny and I have been exonerated.”
Sharon Stone, Stephen Fry, and Liam Neeson all subsequently spoke out in support of Spacey’s return to Hollywood, calling him a “genius” and “fun”.
Channel 4 stood by its documentary, broadcast over two nights at the start of May, saying in a statement: “Spacey Unmasked is an important film exploring the balance of power and inappropriate behaviour in a work environment, aiming to give a voice to those who have previously been unable to speak out.”
