Kevin Spacey trial update: John Barrowman testifies, Spacey denies assaulting Rapp, & more
Follow up to this previous post.
Background:
In 2017, Anthony Rapp came forward with abuse allegations against Kevin Spacey, which he said occurred when he was 14 and Spacey was 26. At the time, Spacey posted a statement on twitter that said although he didn't remember this interaction, he apologized for his behavior and took the opportunity to also come out in the very same tweet. Many criticized him for trying to distract from an assault accusation by saying in the same breath "I choose now to live as a gay man."
In 2020, Rapp filed a civil suit which finally began a few weeks ago. About a week ago, Anthony Rapp testified about Kevin Spacey assaulting him:
[trigger warning: sexual assault]In 1986, 14 year old Anthony Rapp was appearing in Precious Sons with Ed Harris on Broadway. He and 19 year old John Barrowman (who was staying with Rapp and his mother in New York at the time) went to see A Long Day's Journey into Night, which 26 year old Kevin Spacey was appearing in at the time. They went backstage to meet Jack Lemmon after the show and also met Spacey who then invited Rapp and Barrowman to dinner. Afterward Spacey snuck them into an adult nightclub called Limelight and then invited them to a party at his apartment that was scheduled to take place a few days later.
Rapp attended the party without Barrowman. Rapp said that after the other guests left, a drunk Spacey picked him up like a groom carrying a bride over the threshold, grabbed his buttocks, and laid him down on the bed.
He testified, “He climbed on top of me and he put his full weight on my chest, pressed into me with his chest. He was pressing his groin into my hip, the side of my hip. I was frozen. I was pinned underneath him. I didn’t know what to do." He also said, "I don’t know what I did to invite him to climb on top of me and push his groin into me."
After he wriggled out from beneath Spacey and tried to leave, Spacey blocked the door and said, "Are you sure you want to leave?”
Spacey's testimony
This week, Spacey took the stand. He denied assaulting Rapp and said he had never been alone with Rapp before. He claimed that his team (publicists, lawyers, managers) urged him to respond to Rapp's accusation with "compassion and empathy" in the form of issuing a public apology. With the #MeToo movement gaining momentum at the time, “The industry was very nervous. There was a lot of fear in the air about who was going to be next,” so “they told me I couldn’t push back on the story." His managers felt that apologizing was the best way to contain “a crisis that was going to get worse” and to avoid being accused of “being a victim shamer." He said he now regrets issuing the apology, saying, "I've learned a lesson, which is never apologize for something you didn't do."
Although it wasn't surprising that he denied assaulting Rapp, then things took a turn in his testimony. “I grew up in a very complicated family dynamic,” he said, explaining that rants by his father when he was a youngster led him to hate bigotry and intolerance. “My father was a white supremacist and neo-Nazi,” Spacey said. “It meant that my siblings and I were forced to listen to hours and hours of my father lecturing us about his beliefs.”
Barrowman's testimony
John Barrowman, who was previously deposed about this case in May 2021, was the first witness for the defense. His recollection of what happened on the night that he and Rapp met Spacey differs from Rapp's testimony.
After the three of them had dinner together, Spacey invited Rapp and Barrowman to his apartment. He said that when Rapp was in the bathroom, “Playfully, Mr. Spacey pushed me back” on to the bed, and lay there talking to him with arm draped over him. He said it was “probably not the best [situation] to be in if Anthony came out of the bathroom" so he moved Spacey’s arm away, got off the bed, and when Rapp came out of the bathroom said, “We should get going.” He said, “I didn’t want [Anthony] to be in a situation like that.”
He said he never found the encounter threatening. “I was a big boy” and he knew by then that Spacey was gay even if he hadn’t come out, Barrowman said. “I was also, actually, to be honest, quite flattered that an older man was showing any interest in me. “I felt no threat whatsoever,” he said. He later sent flowers to Spacey and that the two stsayed in touch. Barrowman said that Spacey called him and his mother, and that his mother enjoyed it.
Barrowman said that Rapp told him about Spacey assaulting him several years later when they had dinner in London. He said Rapp described Spacey lying on top of him and how he wiggled away.
Some other updates
Spacey's lawyer, Jennifer Keller (who previously represented R. K*lly and B*ll C*sby) tested positive for COVID last week. As a result, everyone in the courtroom is now wearing masks.
After Rapp's lawyers finished their presentation of evidence, Spacey's team argued for dismissal of the case on the grounds that Rapp’s attorneys had failed to prove his claims. Spacey's team asked the judge to throw out the claims of battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The judge agreed to dismiss the latter, saying that it was not allowed under state law because it merely duplicated the battery claim, but he allowed the battery claim to proceed. Because the intentional infliction of emotional distress has been dismissed from the lawsuit, if Rapp wins his case the damages awarded will be lower than the original $40 million requested.
source
Background:
In 2017, Anthony Rapp came forward with abuse allegations against Kevin Spacey, which he said occurred when he was 14 and Spacey was 26. At the time, Spacey posted a statement on twitter that said although he didn't remember this interaction, he apologized for his behavior and took the opportunity to also come out in the very same tweet. Many criticized him for trying to distract from an assault accusation by saying in the same breath "I choose now to live as a gay man."
In 2020, Rapp filed a civil suit which finally began a few weeks ago. About a week ago, Anthony Rapp testified about Kevin Spacey assaulting him:
[trigger warning: sexual assault]In 1986, 14 year old Anthony Rapp was appearing in Precious Sons with Ed Harris on Broadway. He and 19 year old John Barrowman (who was staying with Rapp and his mother in New York at the time) went to see A Long Day's Journey into Night, which 26 year old Kevin Spacey was appearing in at the time. They went backstage to meet Jack Lemmon after the show and also met Spacey who then invited Rapp and Barrowman to dinner. Afterward Spacey snuck them into an adult nightclub called Limelight and then invited them to a party at his apartment that was scheduled to take place a few days later.
Rapp attended the party without Barrowman. Rapp said that after the other guests left, a drunk Spacey picked him up like a groom carrying a bride over the threshold, grabbed his buttocks, and laid him down on the bed.
He testified, “He climbed on top of me and he put his full weight on my chest, pressed into me with his chest. He was pressing his groin into my hip, the side of my hip. I was frozen. I was pinned underneath him. I didn’t know what to do." He also said, "I don’t know what I did to invite him to climb on top of me and push his groin into me."
After he wriggled out from beneath Spacey and tried to leave, Spacey blocked the door and said, "Are you sure you want to leave?”
Spacey's testimony
This week, Spacey took the stand. He denied assaulting Rapp and said he had never been alone with Rapp before. He claimed that his team (publicists, lawyers, managers) urged him to respond to Rapp's accusation with "compassion and empathy" in the form of issuing a public apology. With the #MeToo movement gaining momentum at the time, “The industry was very nervous. There was a lot of fear in the air about who was going to be next,” so “they told me I couldn’t push back on the story." His managers felt that apologizing was the best way to contain “a crisis that was going to get worse” and to avoid being accused of “being a victim shamer." He said he now regrets issuing the apology, saying, "I've learned a lesson, which is never apologize for something you didn't do."
Although it wasn't surprising that he denied assaulting Rapp, then things took a turn in his testimony. “I grew up in a very complicated family dynamic,” he said, explaining that rants by his father when he was a youngster led him to hate bigotry and intolerance. “My father was a white supremacist and neo-Nazi,” Spacey said. “It meant that my siblings and I were forced to listen to hours and hours of my father lecturing us about his beliefs.”
Barrowman's testimony
John Barrowman, who was previously deposed about this case in May 2021, was the first witness for the defense. His recollection of what happened on the night that he and Rapp met Spacey differs from Rapp's testimony.
After the three of them had dinner together, Spacey invited Rapp and Barrowman to his apartment. He said that when Rapp was in the bathroom, “Playfully, Mr. Spacey pushed me back” on to the bed, and lay there talking to him with arm draped over him. He said it was “probably not the best [situation] to be in if Anthony came out of the bathroom" so he moved Spacey’s arm away, got off the bed, and when Rapp came out of the bathroom said, “We should get going.” He said, “I didn’t want [Anthony] to be in a situation like that.”
He said he never found the encounter threatening. “I was a big boy” and he knew by then that Spacey was gay even if he hadn’t come out, Barrowman said. “I was also, actually, to be honest, quite flattered that an older man was showing any interest in me. “I felt no threat whatsoever,” he said. He later sent flowers to Spacey and that the two stsayed in touch. Barrowman said that Spacey called him and his mother, and that his mother enjoyed it.
Barrowman said that Rapp told him about Spacey assaulting him several years later when they had dinner in London. He said Rapp described Spacey lying on top of him and how he wiggled away.
Some other updates
Spacey's lawyer, Jennifer Keller (who previously represented R. K*lly and B*ll C*sby) tested positive for COVID last week. As a result, everyone in the courtroom is now wearing masks.
After Rapp's lawyers finished their presentation of evidence, Spacey's team argued for dismissal of the case on the grounds that Rapp’s attorneys had failed to prove his claims. Spacey's team asked the judge to throw out the claims of battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The judge agreed to dismiss the latter, saying that it was not allowed under state law because it merely duplicated the battery claim, but he allowed the battery claim to proceed. Because the intentional infliction of emotional distress has been dismissed from the lawsuit, if Rapp wins his case the damages awarded will be lower than the original $40 million requested.
source