2023-07-24 23:28:35
The jury retired on Monday to deliberate in the London trial against American actor Kevin Spacey, accused of sexual assault by four men between 2001 and 2013. The movie star, banished from Hollywood, pleaded not guilty.
Faced with the accusation which presented him as a “sexual harasser”, the 63-year-old actor highlighted consensual relationships and certain facts purely invented by the complainants. Four men accuse him of sexual assault between 2001 and 2013, notably from 2004 when he was director of the London theater Old Vic.
The most serious accusation against the actor, a two-time Oscar winner for his roles in ‘American Beauty’ and ‘Usual Suspects’, is that of a man who accuses her of ‘drugging’ him and engaging in sexual activity with him while he was asleep.
During the four-week trial in London, the prosecution portrayed the actor, who appears free, as a ‘sexual harasser’ and ‘a man who does not respect the boundaries or personal space’ of others.
A ‘big flirty’
These accusations emerged in 2017, at the start of the #MeToo movement, when Kevin Spacey was at the height of his fame, starring in the hit Netflix series ‘House of Cards’. In the process, he was landed from the series and other projects in which he was to participate.
During their interrogations in front of the police broadcast during the trial, the four men claimed not to have dared to speak earlier, for fear of not being believed in front of a well-known and influential personality.
In front of the jury, the actor presented himself as a “big flirty”, but denied any “violent”, “aggressive” or “painful” behavior. He said the prosecution’s case was ‘weak’.
He claimed to have been ‘broken’ by the accusations and visibly moved about his ‘lost reputation’, receiving support from singer Elton John who testified from Monaco in favor of the actor.
The jury must decide on nine charges against the actor. Twelve had been retained before the trial, but one was added and four dropped during the trial.
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