AFP
Kevin Spacey, 62, who in 2017 saw his successful career shaken by sexual assault charges in the United States – later dropped -, was released on bail this Thursday (16) after appearing in a London court. He is accused of four sex crimes.
Looking calm and confident, the Hollywood star voluntarily appeared before Westminster Magistrates’ Court to face charges he denies.
The Prosecutor’s Office acknowledged his “full cooperation” in the investigation but asked him to surrender his passport and sleep at his London residence until the next hearing, which the judge has set for July 14 at Southwark Crown Court in south London. The magistrate did not impose any precautionary measure.
“He must answer these charges if he wants to move on with his life,” his lawyer argued. “Where are you going to hide? He lives in the United States and can be extradited. His family, his nine-year-old dog are in the United States,” he insisted.
“His job requires him to go to meetings, attend castings, meet with directors and screenwriters,” he defended, declaring himself convinced that Spacey “will continue to appear” in British justice.
Two-time Oscar winner Spacey, who starred in “American Beauty” (1999) and the hit series “House of Cards”, was charged with four charges of sexual assault by three men in London. “I will defend myself against these charges and I am confident that my innocence will be proven,” he said.
Scotland Yard opened an investigation after receiving complaints against the actor for alleged assaults committed, mainly, in the London neighborhood of Lambeth, where the famous Old Vic theater is located, of which Spacey was artistic director between 2004 and 2015.
Two of the charges relate to sexual assaults committed in March 2005 in London against the same victim, who is now over 40 years old.
Another sexual assault involved a second whistleblower in August 2008 and involved penetrative sexual activity without his consent.
The actor is charged with a fourth sexual assault in April 2013 in Gloucestershire, southwest England, against a third whistleblower.
The wave of accusations that destroyed his successful career corresponded to the emergence of the #MeToo movement, which grew out of the case of the almighty American film producer Harvey Weinstein. Spacey had already been the subject of several allegations in the United States for sexual harassment and assault in 2017.
He was initially charged in Massachusetts with placing his hands on the private parts of an 18-year-old at a bar, after getting him drunk, in July 2016. Those charges were dropped in 2019.
Spacey’s last on-screen appearance dates back to 2018, with the premiere of the movie “The Billionaire Boys Club”. He was fired from “House of Cards” and left out of a Ridley Scott film, “All the Money in the World,” in which he was replaced by Canadian actor Christopher Plummer.
In November 2021, he was ordered to pay US$31 million to MRC, the producer of “House of Cards”, as compensation for the loss of income attributed to his departure from the successful series of political intrigues. in Washington, in which he gave life to the unscrupulous president Frank Underwood.
However, he made a timid return to cinema, in June 2021, with the filming in the Italian city of Turin of a feature film directed by Italian Franco Nero and entitled “L’uomo che Disegno Dio” where, according to the producer, he plays a secondary character.
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