London –
WARNING: Offensive content. It is recommended to the reader’s judgment.
Kevin Spacey stood up to prosecutors during his sexual assault trial in a London court on Friday, denying his groin grabbing was his “trademark” pick-up act.
In a heated exchange that required a judge’s intervention, Spacey was questioned about charges of forcibly grabbing a man backstage at a charity event at the theater.
“No way!” Spacey responded to laughter from the audience in a packed courtroom.
“Yes, because that’s exactly where you got him, isn’t it?” Prosecutor Christine Agnew retorted firmly.
“Really?” Spacey said, looking up at Judge Mark Wall in disbelief. “Did he accuse me of grabbing his flesh?”
When someone said yes, Wall told him to answer the prosecutor’s question.
“I didn’t do that,” said Spacey.
The two-time Oscar-winner said that between 2001 and 2013, three of the four accusers who claimed disturbing encounters that escalated from unwanted touch to aggressive caressing included sexual assault. He insisted on the previous day’s testimony that he had not.
He dismissed one man’s claims as “pure fantasy” and said he had consensual encounters with two others, but later regretted it. He admitted that he grabbed a fourth man by the groin after making a “clumsy pass” on a night of heavy drinking.
At his last chance to win jury support in a case that could affect his ability to return after sexual misconduct accusations derailed his once illustrious career, Spacey was at times frustrated and criticized by others. laughed off the question.
The 63-year-old American, who was identified by his full name as Kevin Spacey Fowler in court, was acquitted of 12 counts, including one count of sexual and lewd assault and one count of allowing someone to commit sexual penetration. claimed. without consent. If convicted, he could face a prison sentence.
While the two were sparring, Spacey barely looked at Agnew and turned his gaze to the Southwark court jury, but without glasses. She pressed him on each of the allegations, and the men who testified against him were telling the truth, she claimed, and Spacey claimed they were lying.
Agnew said Spacey was not only a self-proclaimed “big flirt” but also a “big sexual bully.”
“That’s your point,” Spacey countered.
Agnew suggested that Spacey might have gotten agitated by sitting next to a man in a theater during a rehearsal for a benefit event. She said the man decided “let’s do it” when he was alone backstage grabbed by the genitals and described as an imposing cobra.
“You’re just making it up now,” said Spacey.
When asked why men lie, Spacey replied, “Money, money, and money.”
Two of the men have filed lawsuits against him.
Spacey said being famous would have made it easier to “have sex all the time”, but she found it difficult to trust people, which led to periods of loneliness.
“So you sexually touched people to relieve that burden?” Agnew asked.
“Welcome to life,” Spacey replied. “Yes, yes, it was.”
Spacey said he’s engaged in promiscuity on occasion, adding, “That doesn’t make me the bad guy.”
If you’re in a relationship, reaching for someone’s crotch would be an inappropriate first move, he said.
He objected to using the term “groin grab” to describe what he did when he said he misread a sign from a man he met in a pub.
“My guess is that it wasn’t a grab, it wasn’t a fumbling,” he said of what he did. “It’s a gentle touch.”
“As a matter of fact, Mr. Spacey Fowler, this is your MO,” said Agnew bluntly.
All of the alleged victims said they only came forward in 2017 when allegations against Spacey surfaced in the United States as the #MeToo movement gained momentum.
Agnew said Spacey had used his powerful position as “essentially the golden boy of London theater” and knew victims were unlikely to speak up against him. .
Spacey said he only used his position to restore the Old Vic Theater, where he was artistic director for 10 years, to its former glory.
“I didn’t have a wand of power to swing in people’s faces when I wanted someone to sleep with me,” he said.
When Agnew was questioned about the most serious charges based on having given oral sex to an aspiring actor who fell asleep or passed out on the couch, Spacey said the encounter was consensual and romantic. objected to.
She questioned Spacey’s account that she called the man out of concern after he rushed out of the apartment. Agnew said the man was actually unconscious when he called, suggesting it was either a mistake or a pocket dial.
“That’s your theory,” said Spacey.
“That’s the prosecution case,” Agnew replied.
“And weak!” he retorted.
