Kevin Spacey wins Anthony Rapp’s sexual abuse lawsuit against him after a jury finds him not liable for the assault after weeks of trial.
After a three-week trial period, a jury finds: Kevin Spacey not liable for battery against Anthony Rapp. In 2017, Rapp first accused Spacey of sexual assault in a BuzzFeed article detailing an incident where Spacey sexually aggressively lifted and held him in bed. The alleged attack took place at Spacey’s New York City apartment in 1986 when he was 26 and Rapp 14. Rapp formally filed a lawsuit against Spacey in 2020, accusing him of assault, assault and intentionally inflicting emotional distress.
Since Rapp first spoke out, an avalanche of abuse allegations have poured down against Spacey, including several House of cards crew members accuse him of sexual harassment and assault. Since these various allegations surfaced, Spacey has largely stayed out of the public eye and stepped out of Hollywood. He initially tried to fight the charges by apologizing to Rapp, blaming the behavior on drunkenness and coming out as gay in the process. This attempt at distraction was widely criticized for mixing sexuality with his behavior. The House of cards star has pleaded innocent in all cases brought against him.
Now, after a three-week trial, a New York jury has found that Spacey did not harass Rapp, nor is he liable for the battery, according to Variety. After deliberating for nearly two hours, the jury reached a unanimous decision that Rapp’s lawyers could not prove that Spacey had sexually or intimately touched him in 1986. Judge Lewis Kaplan formally dismissed the case.
Where is Kevin Spacey from?
Spacey winning the lawsuit brought against him by Rapp means only a temporary victory for the disgraced actor. Spacey is also facing four charges of sexually assaulting three men in the UK, where he was the artistic director of the Old Vic theatre. He has also pleaded not guilty. Spacey also faces other legal challenges, such as being ordered to pay $31 million to production company MRC for violating his House of cards contract.
Amid all the accusations and legal battles, Spacey tries to make a comeback in Hollywood. He has recently appeared in a number of international productions such as Franco Nero .’s The Man Who Drawn God and is set to star in 1242 – Gateway to the West, a more high-profile production. Like other combatants like Johnny Depp, who have had big wins in court, it can still be difficult for them to fully restore their reputation to where they were before the damning charges. As always, only time will tell how the recent court decision affects Kevin Spacey‘s career.
Source: Variety
