As a documentary is set to air that its producer calls a “MeToo moment for men,” controversial actor Kevin Spacey is lambasting it as a “desperate attempt for ratings.”
“Spacey Unmasked” is scheduled to be broadcast in Britain on Monday and Tuesday on Channel 4, according to Variety.
Going back to 2017, Spacey has faced a slew of sexual assault allegations from more than 30 men in the entertainment industry, according to The Cut. Many of those men, including the initial accuser -- actor Anthony Rapp in 2017 -- claimed they were underage when Spacey allegedly assaulted them. A 2022 New York trial found Rapp had not proven that Spacey's conduct had taken place, The Cut reported.
Another U.K.-based trial acquitted Spacey on additional charges in 2023. With the prosecutors' evidence largely centered on eyewitness testimony years after the fact, the accusers failed to meet the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard, according to ABC News.
“In 2023 Spacey was acquitted of sexual offenses against four men in a U.K. trial. This two-part series will investigate Spacey’s conduct and talks to multiple men unconnected to that case about their experiences with Kevin Spacey, almost all of whom have never spoken before,” Channel 4 says in its promotional material for the two-part show.
Spacey argued in a post on X that the show is an unbalanced attack on him.
“Over the last week, I have repeatedly requested that @Channel4 afford me more than 7 days to respond to allegations made against me dating back 48 years and provide me with sufficient details to investigate these matters. Channel 4 has refused on the basis that they feel that asking for a response in 7 days to new, anonymized and non-specific allegations is a 'fair opportunity' for me to refute any allegations made against me,” he posted.
“I will not sit back and be attacked by a dying network's one-sided “documentary” about me in their desperate attempt for ratings. There's a proper channel to handle allegations against me and it’s not Channel 4... Each time I have been given the time and a proper forum to defend myself, the allegations have failed under scrutiny and I have been exonerated.
“Channel 4 and @RoastBeefTV may find themselves ‘speechless,’ but I no longer will be."
Channel 4 told Variety “Kevin Spacey has been given sufficient opportunity to respond.”
Dorothy Byrne, a producer of the show, said it is “going ahead,” according to the Guardian.
“I’ve made a lot of programs over decades about women suffering inappropriate behavior, so this has been a very interesting project to work on. I do feel that it’s a #MeToo moment for men,” she said.
“Lots of things that were done to women 50 years ago are still being done to men, many of whom feel that they have to put up with it. Employees now know to look out for this kind of behavior, but they tend to assume it’s going to be a woman at risk."
The documentary features claims from men “regarding events they say took place between 1976 and 2013.”
So far, none of the allegations have stuck in court. Spacey won the aforementioned New York civil lawsuit in October 2022 concerning an incident at a party in 1996 involving Rapp.
In a new interview, Spacey admitted he has made mistakes, but said the documentary’s claims are not accurate.
“I take full responsibility for my past behavior and my actions, but I cannot and will not take responsibility or apologize to anyone who’s made up stuff about me or exaggerated stories about me,” Spacey said
“I’ve clearly hooked up with some men who thought they might get ahead in their careers by having a relationship with me… But there was no conversation with me, it was all part of their plan, a plan that was always destined to fail, because I wasn’t in on the deal."
Spacey admitted to what he called “clumsy” approaches to men who “turned out” not to be interested.
“But I was not employing them, I was not their boss, I was oftentimes just swimming in for an hour here or there as a well-known actor to lend support... to answer questions. That may not have been the best decision, and it is not one I would do today, but it happened… It wasn’t illegal, and nor has it ever been alleged to have been illegal,” he said.
