American actor Kevin Spacey is to be tried from Wednesday in London, accused of several sexual assaults dating back to the oldest in the early 2000s, which he denies having committed. The 63-year-old Hollywood star has pleaded not guilty to all 12 charges against him which were revealed in the wake of the #MeToo movement, putting his career on hold.
The two-time Oscar winner for his roles in American Beauty And Usual Suspects was first prosecuted last summer for four sexual assaults on three men between March 2005 and April 2013 when he was manager of London’s Old Vic theatre. In November 2022, the proceedings were widened to include another case, in which he is accused of sexually assaulting a man between 2001 and 2004, including forcing him “to engage in non-consensual sex”, according to the Crown Attorney’s office.
Accusations that emerged in the midst of the #MeToo movement
Other charges against the actor include forcing a person to engage in non-consensual penetrative sexual intercourse, or committing intentional sexual touching of another person without his consent.
Already heard at several preliminary hearings, for which he had traveled in person or had appeared by videoconference, Kevin Spacey Fowler, his real name, pleaded not guilty to all of the charges against him. After the green light from the prosecution, the actor said he was “disappointed” but announced his intention to appear before the British courts to “prove his innocence”.
He is due to appear in person at Southwark Crown Court in south London on Thursday to face the judge. His trial is expected to last a month. These accusations emerged in 2017 at the start of the #MeToo movement, when Kevin Spacey was at the height of his fame, lead performer of the hit Netflix series House of Cards. In the process, he was landed from the last season.