Troubling Stories About the Hollywood Actor
In 2017, Star Trek actor Anthony Rapp made troubling allegations about Kevin Spacey who he said assaulted him when he was just 14 years old. Following this claim, other men came forward with their own stories about Spacey and his inappropriate sexual behaviour towards them.
At the time of these allegations, Spacey was a major player in Hollywood. He had delivered brilliant performances in some wonderful movies and he was respected by his peers for his sterling work.
But so disturbing were the claims about Spacey’s alleged predatory behaviour that his career took a downward turn. He was fired from House of Cards, his scenes from the movie All the Money in the World were cut, and Hollywood stopped calling.
In 2023, Spacey was found not guilty of nine sexual offences that allegedly occurred between 2001 and 2013. A New York jury also sided with the actor in the civil lawsuit instigated by Anthony Rapp when they decided there wasn’t enough evidence to prove the accusations made against him.
As far as the law was concerned, Spacey was an innocent man. However, there are still those who believe Spacey is guilty of the crimes for which he was charged. Some of these people are alleged victims of Spacey who publically speak out for the first time against him in Kira Phillips’s new documentary Spacey Unmasked.
The director, whose last documentary was Death on Daytime, an expose of the failings of the Jeremy Kyle Show, isn’t completely condemnatory about the American Beauty actor. She provides an insight into his troubled childhood and the pressures that were on him to open up about his sexuality after he became famous.
It’s possible to have some level of sympathy for Spacey as a consequence, as Phillips tries to dig into his background to determine the reasons for his alleged sexual misbehaviour. Was it his repressed sexuality that (allegedly) caused him to demand sex from men instead of pursuing a healthy sexual relationship? Maybe, but whatever the case might be, no amount of excuses will heal the men that he apparently hurt.
Troubling stories emerge about Spacey’s sexual behaviour in this documentary. One of the men we hear from is an actor named Daniel who appeared with Spacey on House of Cards. According to him, Spacey groped his penis on set, just a few moments after they had shared a scene together. “It seemed like he was unstoppable” Daniel says when describing the way he felt powerless to prevent what was happening to him.
Another aspiring actor talks about Spacey promising him a meeting with Bruce Willis at a Hollywood party. However, this was allegedly just an excuse for Spacey to get him alone in a room for his own sexual pleasure.
There are other stories about Spacey, all of which are deeply troubling. There’s little need for us to detail them all here as you can hear from the actor’s alleged victims on the documentary. Any doubts you might have about the veracity of their stories will likely disappear when you hear them share their experiences. The tales they tell certainly seem authentic and we are given no reason not to believe them.
Kevin Spacey wasn’t interviewed for the documentary. The spotlight is firmly on those who claim to have been assaulted or sexually harassed by him. The doc is a little bit unbalanced as a consequence but it’s perhaps only right that the focus is on the men who claim to have been hurt by the actor. If Spacey had given a fresh interview for the doc, it may have taken attention away from the men who have been brave enough to tell their stories on camera.
We’re sure Spacey will have his say about the accusations made against him when he speaks to the media. He has already denied the claims in the run-up to the documentary being shown. The truth will eventually come out, we’re sure. There’s a chance this might happen in court if further action against Spacey is taken.
But for now, we have another reminder of how the Hollywood elite use their powerful positions to take advantage of those less famous than them. For Spacey, the house of cards he so carefully built up over the years continues to crash down around him. In recent years, he has been trying to rebuild his career. But following the airing of Spacey Unmasked, there’s a chance his life will take another downward turn. We’ll have to wait and see.
Spacey Unmasked is available to watch now on Channel 4’s on-demand streaming service in the UK. The documentary will also be available to watch on Max in the US, though we don’t have a release date at the time of writing.
Feel Free To Check Out More Of Our TV Show Reviews Here!
-
Verdict - 8/10
8/10