NEW YORK — A New York City jury was asked Thursday not to underestimate decades-old sexual assault allegations against actor Kevin Spacey because he and his accuser are gay.
The request came from a lawyer for Anthony Rapp, as his $40 million civil case against Spacey got underway in Manhattan Federal Court.
Rapp claims the Oscar winner pinned him down on a bed at Spacey’s Upper East Side apartment in 1986, when Rapp was a teen performing on Broadway.
That Rapp, now 50, and Spacey, 63, have mostly dated men should have no bearing on the facts at the heart of the case, argued Rapp’s attorney, Peter Saghir.
“What happened to Mr. Rapp at the hands of Kevin Spacey when he was just 14 years old had nothing to do Mr. Rapp’s sexual orientation, and it had nothing to do with Kevin Spacey’s sexual orientation,” Saghir said.
“If you’re tempted to say that men who love each other are not deserving of justice, then we might as well pack our bags and go home right now,” he continued. “Whether it’s a 14-year-old boy or a 14-year-old girl should make no difference in this courtroom.”
Spacey’s lawyer Jennifer Keller launched an aggressive defense out of the gate.
She described Rapp, who filed his suit in 2020, as “troubled” and said he fabricated the alleged molestation because he was jealous of Spacey’s success.
“You’ll hear that he’s been telling this story for attention, for sympathy, and to raise his own profile,” she said. “(He) never became the international star that Kevin Spacey is, who could play almost any role — comedic, dramatic, sang, danced. He has been simmering, simmering with resentment all of this time.”
She accused Rapp of harboring resentment toward her client for not coming out as gay at the height of his success.
“When he’d see Kevin Spacey winning an Oscar, he’d become enraged,” said Keller. “He knew Mr. Spacey was in the closet on his way to becoming a star.”
Rapp was living in New York with his mother while he was in “Precious Sons” on Broadway, when Spacy allegedly abused him. The same year, the up-and-coming Spacey was starring in “Long Day’s Journey into Night.”
The pair had met twice before Spacey invited Rapp to a party at his place. When the teen arrived and found himself the only minor there, he claims he felt “uncomfortable,” and spent the night in Spacey’s bedroom watching David Letterman.
Rapp’s lawyer said he client felt “frozen” when an intoxicated Spacey, who was “unsteady on his feet,” and had “glassy” eyes — stood “swaying” in the doorway at the end of the night. Saghir said Spacey, who was 26, picked up the 100-pound Rapp and lifted him onto his bed like a groom would carry his bride. The older man then allegedly crawled on top of the teen, and pressed his pelvis into the boy’s hips.
A terrified Rapp “wriggled” free, ran to the bathroom, and left, said Saghir.
An unnamed witness will testify that Spacey sexually assaulted him as a youth in 1981, Saghir said.
Spacey, in a grey suit and white shirt, occasionally whispering to his legal team in court and looked away as Saghir delivered his opening argument.
More than 20 men have accused the “American Beauty” actor of sexual misconduct. He also faces criminal charges in the U.K.
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