Kevin Spacey tells UK court ‘world exploded’ after sex assault claim
- Giving evidence at the start of his defence, the Oscar winner told jurors he had been ‘crushed’ by the allegations
- The 63-year-old is standing trial on a dozen charges of sex offences against four men between 2001 and 2013 when they were in their 20s and 30s
Kevin Spacey fought back tears as he told a London court on Thursday how his “world exploded” when he was first accused of sexual assault.
The two-time Oscar-winning actor is standing trial at Southwark Crown Court on a dozen charges of sex offences against four men between 2001 and 2013, when they were in their 20s and 30s.
Giving evidence at the start of his defence, Spacey denied committing any sexual assaults and told jurors he had been “crushed” by the allegations. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
The 63-year-old became emotional as he described what he said was the impact of separate accusations that were first made in the US in 2017 by actor Anthony Rapp and published by Buzzfeed.
“My world exploded,” he said. “There was a rush to judgment” after the article was published, he added. “Before the first question was asked or answered, I lost my job, I lost my reputation, I lost everything, in a matter of days.”