Oscar winner Kevin Spacey is hitting back at new allegations of sexual harassment and assault by men that will be featured in a British television documentary scheduled to air next week.
“I have nothing to hide anymore,” Spacey told former British journalist Dan Wootton during a two-hour, 20-minute online interview titled “Kevin Spacey: Right of Reply,” broadcast Friday night on Wootton’s YouTube channel and social media channels. media accounts.
In the interview, Spacey, 64, said he had never done anything illegal and admitted he had struggled to return to work after being acquitted last year of criminal charges by a London court.
“I can’t go through this again, allowing myself to be baselessly attacked without defending myself,” he said.
Last July, a London jury acquitted Spacey on sexual assault charges stemming from allegations by four men dating back 20 years. The court victory was his second since a New York jury sided with Spacey in a case Pursuit of $40 million in 2022 contributed by “Star Trek: Discovery” actor Anthony Rapp.
The documentary “Spacey Unmasked” is scheduled to be broadcast on May 6 and 7 on Channel 4 in Britain and broadcast on Max in the United States. The documentary would feature testimonies from men about events that occurred between 1976 and 2013, the actor revealed during the interview. .
“I take full responsibility for my past behavior and actions, but I cannot and will not take responsibility or apologize to anyone who made things up about me or exaggerated stories about me ” said Spacey, who won Oscars for “The Usual Suspects.” ” and “American Beauty”.
“I have never told anyone that if they do me sexual favors, I will help them in their career, ever,” he added.
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Spacey, who was artistic director of London’s Old Vic Theater from 2004 to 2015, again admitted he “flirted” with men in their 20s and sometimes made “awkward” passes.
“I definitely met men who thought they could advance in their careers by having a relationship with me,” he said. “But there was no conversation with me, it was all part of their plan, a plan that was always doomed to failure, because I was not a party to the deal.”
The actor said in the interview that taking a break from his Hollywood career had hit him financially, but returning to work over the past year had been both welcome and difficult. At the time of the first allegations in 2017, Spacey was starring as Frank Underwood in the wildly popular Netflix drama “House of Cards.” It is also the start of the #MeToo movement.
“It feels very special, a very, very precious moment because, you know, acting is really lying for a living. You’re trying to convince an audience that you’re someone else, that’s probably why it’s easy for me and why many think I’m good at it,” Spacey told Wootton.
He added: “The reality is that I only had one dream in life, to be an actor. And while I certainly loved the attention I was getting, the truth is that I would be quite happy to never show up at another awards ceremony.”
The actor also claimed on X, formerly Twitter, that he had “asked repeatedly“that Channel 4 gives him more than seven days to respond to the allegations made about him in their documentary.
Spacey said the network declined “on the basis that it believes that requesting a response within 7 days to new anonymized and non-specific allegations is a ‘fair opportunity’ for me to refute any allegations made against me.”
“Every time I have had time and an appropriate forum to defend myself, the allegations have failed and I have been exonerated,” he added.
Spacey said he struggled to return to work after being acquitted of all criminal charges, describing his experience as a “life sentence.”
The Associated Press has contacted Channel 4 for comment. CBS News has contacted Max for comment.
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