Kevin Spacey is uit de kast gekomen als reactie op Star Trek- en Rent-acteur Anthony Rapp, die hem beschuldigde van ongewenste seksuele avances toen hij veertien was.

'I chose now to live as a gay man'

Kevin Spacey liet vanochtend vroeg in een reactie op Twitter weten:

'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.'

Daarna schrijft de acteur dat dit hem heeft aangezet om eerlijker over zijn eigen privéleven te zijn en laat-ie weten dat hij op mannen valt:

'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 closes to me know, in my life, I have had relationships with both men and women. I have loved and had romantic relationships with men throughout my life, and I choose now to live as a gay man. I want to deal with this honestly and openly and that starts with examining my own behavior.'

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Aantijgingen

De 46-jarige Anthony Rapp liet dit weekend in een interview met Buzzfeed weten dat een toen 26-jarige Kevin Spacey hem in 1989 uitnodigde voor in feestje in zijn appartement in Manhattan. Ze schitterden toentertijd samen in een Broadway-stuk. Rapp vertelt dat hij de enige tiener was bij het feestje en dat-ie de meeste tijd vertoefde in de slaapkamer, tv kijkend.

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Anthony Rapp

Op een gegeven moment was het feestje afgelopen en was hij alleen met Kevin Spacey in het appartement. Rapp omschrijft aan Buzzfeed:

'My memory was that I thought, "Oh, everybody's gone. Well, yeah, I should probably go home". [...] My impression when he came in the room was that he was drunk… He picked me up like a groom picks up the bride over the threshold. But I don't, like, squirm away initially, because I'm like, "What's going on?" And then he lays down on top of me. He was trying to seduce me. I don't know if I would have used that language. But I was aware that he was trying to get with me sexually.'

Rapp omschrijft hoe hij de acteur van zich afduwde en naar de badkamer rende:

'I was like, "What is happening?". I saw on the counter next to the sink a picture of him having his arm around a man. So I think on some level I was like, Oh. He's gay. I guess. Then I opened the door, and I was like, "OK, I'm going to go home now." He followed me to the front door of the apartment, and as I opened the door to leave, he was leaning on the front door[frame]. And he was like, "Are you sure you wanna go?" I said, "Yes, good night," and then I did leave. [...] The older I get, and the more I know, I feel very fortunate that something worse didn't happen. And at the same time, the older I get, the more I can't believe it. I could never imagine [that] anyone else I know would do something like that to a 14-year-old boy.'

Anthony Rapp, zelf openlijk homo, deelde dit verhaal al eens in 2001, maar wilde toen niet Spaceys naam noemen. Hij besloot nu wel openheid te geven, door de #MeToo-beweging die nu gaande is. Op Twitter laat Rapp weten:

'I came forward with my story, standing on the shoulders of the many courageous women and men who have been speaking out to shine a light and hopefully make a difference, as they have done for me.'