Kevin Spacey, star of ‘House Of Cards’, was charged with sexual abuse of men in the UK
The complaints are related to events that allegedly occurred in a period between March 2005 and April 2013.
The American actor Kevin Spacey was charged in the United Kingdom with sexual assault of three men, the Crown Prosecutor’s Office (CPS) reported on Thursday, May 26.
“CPS has authorized criminal prosecution against Kevin Spacey, 62, on four counts of sexual assault of three men,” said Rosemary Ainslie, chief of the special crimes division.
He said he was also “accused of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without their consent,” after specifying that the charges come “after an examination of the evidence collected by the London police.”
Two counts relate to sexual assaults in March 2005 in London against one of the complainants. Another sexual assault involved a second complainant in August 2008, also engaging in penetrative sexual activity without his consent.
The actor is accused of a fourth sexual assault on a third complainant in April 2013 in Gloucestershire, in southwest England.
According to the information, a hearing has not been set at this time.
Spacey, star of films such as American Beauty and the two-time Oscar-winning series House of Cards, was the subject of several complaints in the United States for sexual harassment and assault in 2017.
The wave of accusations that ended his career was concomitant with the rise of the #MeToo movement, which was born from the case of the almighty American film producer Harvey Weinstein.
Millionaire fine
The American actor was sentenced to pay almost 31 million dollars to the producer of the series House of Cards, which he starred in until he was fired for allegations of sexual harassment, an arbitration judge has ruled.
MRC, producer of the series broadcast on Netflix, filed a petition on November 22, 2021 to confirm the verdict in a Los Angeles court.
In the document, the company details that following the allegations published against Spacey for sexual harassment and assault in 2017, it suspended the actor and ordered an investigation that determined that “Spacey broke with determinations set forth in the acting and executive production agreements that set the standards for his conduct in the workplace, including the breakdown of MRC’s harassment policy.”
The renowned writer and producer of Hollywood, Drew Dixon, spoke out against the news through her official Twitter profile and through the aforementioned hashtag.
“I’m glad to see kevin Spacey paying for the damage he caused. My thoughts are with the families of the two men who died and all their victims,” she wrote at the time.
Spacey starred in five seasons of House of Cards until several allegations of sexual harassment against co-workers became public in the media. “MRC was not aware of this type of conduct by Spacey with members of the show’s cast or crew,” the production company said in the document.
A two-time Oscar winner, the American Beauty performer was eventually fired from the series in which he played Frank Underwood, an unscrupulous American politician.
The production company added that the consequent exclusion of the American actor from the popular series demanded a reorganization of the work that resulted in “substantial losses” for MRC. The production company argues that it had to rewrite the script excluding Underwood, the main character of the series and redesign the sixth season, which went from 13 to 8 episodes.
MRC initiated a legal battle against Spacey in 2019, and according to the petition, in 2020 an arbitration judge ruled in favor of MRC declaring Spacey’s breach of contract.
Nearly four years after the sexual abuse allegations leveled against him, Kevin Spacey landed a new film role. It was in the Italian production entitled L’uomo Che Disegno Dio (The Man Who Drew God), directed by Franco Nero (Forever Blues).
As reported by ABC News, the actor will share shots with actress Vanessa Redgrave, wife of the director and protagonist of the film that will be shot in Italy. “I’m very happy that Kevin has agreed to participate in my film. I consider him a great actor and I can’t wait to start shooting,” Nero told the US media.
Spacey last appeared on the big screen with the 2018 premiere of The Young Billionaires Club, a drama directed by James Cox, which failed miserably at the box office.
*With information from AFP and Europa Press.