Kevin Spacey has officially come out as gay following accusations of sexual assault from openly gay actor Anthony Rapp. He posted an extensive apology and coming out statement to Twitter following the statement.
The letter is as follows:
I have a lot of respect and admiration for Anthony Rapp as an actor. I’m beyond horrified to hear his story. I honestly do not remember the encounter, it would have been over 30 years ago. But if I did behave as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior, and I am sorry for the feelings he describes having carried with him all these years.
This story has encouraged me to address other things about my life. I know that there are stories out there about me and that some have been fueled by the fact that I have been so protective of my privacy. As those closest to me know, in my life I have had relationships with both men and women. I have loved and had romantic encounters with men throughout my life, and I choose now to live as a gay man. I want to deal with this honestly and that starts with examining my own behavior.
Rapp, who was fourteen in 1986 when the assault allegedly happened, said that coming forward was in part because of the Harvey Weinstein scandals. Erin Quill, a fellow actress, has corroborated the account, saying that Rapp told her about the encounter in 1992. Rapp also spoke of the incident in 2001 to The Advocate, but never named Spacey as the assaulter. Rapp officially named Spacey in an interview with Buzzfeed that was published at 9:32 PM on October 29th.
Rapp claims that after everyone had left a party held at Spacey’s apartment, Spacey entered the bedroom he had spent most of the night in and picked him up bridal style. Spacey then laid down on top of him. He [Spacey] was also described as swaying as if he was drunk, which Spacey has claimed as a potential excuse for what occurred and why he may not remember the events. Spacey would have been 26 at the time of the assault.
Public responses have been mixed between being supportive of his coming out and upset over how the letter can be taken as hiding behind being drunk and/or closeted as an excuse for harassing and assaulting a minor.
We’re following the story and will post updates as they occur.