Anthony Rapp

Lawsuit sought $40m in damages after Rapp claimed the actor tried to sexually abuse him when he was 14.

At the time, Rapp was 14 and Spacey was 26. Rapp is a regular on TV’s Star Trek: Discovery and was part of the original Broadway cast of Rent. He accused Spacey of lying on the witness stand.

Spacey flatly denied Rapp's allegations, saying under oath that “they are not true.” His lawyers argued that Rapp “created a story” in large part because he ...

Spacey testified that he invited Rapp and Barrowman back to his apartment in Manhattan's Upper East Side after the club to introduce them to his dog and show them the views from his place. Rapp, 50, is a series regular on the Paramount+ series "Star Trek: Discovery" and has appeared in films such as "Dazed and Confused" and "A Beautiful Mind." Rapp testified that he did not recognize anyone at the party, so he went into a bedroom to watch television. However, Rapp's lawyers got a chance to question Andy Holtzman, a former employee of Manhattan's Public Theater, who alleges that Spacey assaulted him there in 1981. He testified that he [felt inspired to go public](https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/celebrity/kevin-spacey-anthony-rapp-trial-rcna52137) with his claims in the early days of the #MeToo movement in 2017. [He pleaded not guilty](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/kevin-spacey-pleads-not-guilty-sexual-assault-charges-uk-court-rcna38161) in July at a hearing at London's Central Criminal Court. [Anthony Rapp alleged](https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/kevin-spacey-anthony-rapp-trial-rcna50517) that Spacey climbed on top of him at a party in New York City in 1986, when Rapp was 14 and Spacey was 26. That night, Spacey took Rapp and Rapp's friend John Barrowman to a restaurant and a nightclub. [In a statement on Twitter](https://twitter.com/KevinSpacey/status/924848412842971136) the next day, Spacey said he did not recall the alleged incident but apologized to Rapp for "what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior." Spacey testified that he felt attracted to Barrowman, who was 19 at the time. "I would have never done anything to hurt the gay community," he said, as tears welled up in his eyes. In his testimony, Spacey said he regretted that statement.

After roughly 80 minutes of deliberations, jurors reached a unanimous decision that Rapp's lawyers had failed to prove that Spacey “touched a sexual or intimate ...

Confidential,” as well as the Netflix series “House of Cards.” They noted, for instance, that Rapp described Spacey as having a separate bedroom, when a floor plan that they produced showed that the actor lived in a studio apartment with once central room. “[Kevin Spacey] cannot control his sexual urges when they come up,” Richard Steigman, one of the lawyers on Rapp’s team, said. Rapp first made his claims in a 2017 BuzzFeed article, in which he said that Spacey lifted him up, placed him on his bed, and pinned Rapp down in a sexually aggressive manner. In a statement on social media, Rapp made no direct mention of the verdict, but thanked the jury for hearing the case. After roughly 80 minutes of deliberations, jurors reached a unanimous decision that Rapp’s lawyers had failed to prove that Spacey “touched a sexual or intimate part” of Rapp.

Kevin Spacey's civil sexual-misconduct trial in New York neared its conclusion October 20 with his and Anthony Rapp's lawyers presenting closing arguments.

Rapp has falsely alleged abuse that never occurred at a party that was never held in a room that did not exist.” Rapp, Keller said, had long harbored animosity toward Spacey “for not coming out.” Steigman himself is one of the top personal-injury lawyers in New York, which means in the country, and has won a lot of his money for his clients,” Keller said. “And you think it’s okay to make the moves on [Barrowman], you think it’s okay to bring this 14-year-old kid with you? [Jennifer Keller](https://www.vulture.com/2022/10/kevin-spacey-lawyer-covid-19.html), Spacey’s lead attorney, started her closing argument, she thanked Steigman for describing her as “one of the greatest lawyers in the country.” Then came her chaser, a passive-aggressive dig at his area of practice. “You think maybe you’d want to add on a little bit that ‘He touched me with his hands in certain ways’ or a little worse.” Steigman also said the defense was using a “homosexual rage” argument, attributing Rapp’s allegations to his anger that Spacey hadn’t come out. “I’m a little behind in that derby.” Keller claimed that Seiger mischaracterized her opening statement, saying she “never talked about homosexual rage” nor said Rapp was enamored with Barrowman. There was also the matter of Me Too. Among Steigman’s arguments: “Do you think you could make up a better story than that if that was your goal?” Steigman said. Did he think Anthony was going to sit on the bed and watch TV? After about one hour and 15 minutes of deliberations, jurors returned a verdict finding that Anthony Rapp did not prove, by a “preponderance of evidence,” that Spacey “touched a sexual or intimate part or parts of Mr. In what world is this an appropriate thing to do?” Steigman added, “What did he think was going to happen when Anthony came out of the bathroom when this pass was successful? [Kevin Spacey](https://www.vulture.com/tags/kevin-spacey/) was cleared in his New York [sexual-misconduct civil trial](https://www.vulture.com/2022/10/kevin-spacey-trial-anthony-rapp-accusations-explained.html) on October 20.

A jury has concluded that Kevin Spacey didn't molest fellow actor Anthony Rapp in the 1980s. This brings to a conclusion a trial that was an outgrowth of ...

Spacey also gave courtroom spectators a brief taste of his acting chops when he briefly imitated his Broadway costar at the time, Jack Lemmon. Rapp’s claims, and those of others, abruptly interrupted what had been a soaring career for the two-time Academy Award winning actor, who lost his job on the Netflix series “House of Cards” and saw other opportunities dry up. He said the actor, then 26, picked him up and briefly laid on top of him on a bed. That I knew,” he told jurors. Rapp and his lawyers also left the courthouse without speaking to reporters. “Sometimes the simple truth is the best. The simple truth is that this happened.” That there was no truth to any of the allegations,” she added, a reference to other sexual misconduct claims against the actor, including criminal charges in England. When the verdict was read, Spacey dropped his head, then hugged his lawyers. At the trial, Spacey testified that he was sure the encounter with Rapp never happened, in part because he was living in a studio apartment rather than the one bedroom that Rapp cited, and he never had a gathering beyond a housewarming party. During the trial, Rapp testified that Spacey had invited him to his apartment for a party, then approached him in a bedroom after the other guests left. “What’s next is Mr.

The actors both testified in a civil trial this month over accusations of an encounter in 1986.

Mr. Another accuser of Mr. Watching Mr. Spacey, Mr. Several witnesses testified that Mr. Rapp had told them about an encounter with Mr. Rapp describes, and that Mr. When Mr. A lawyer for Mr. Then Mr. The judge ultimately dismissed Mr. Rapp said his encounter with Mr.

The lawsuit alleged that Spacey sexually assaulted Rapp in 1986 when he was a teenager.

Spacey is awaiting trial in the United Kingdom on five counts of [sexual assault](https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/05/26/kevin-spacey-uk-sexual-assault-charges/?itid=lk_inline_manual_20) related to incidents alleged to have taken place in England between 2005 and 2013, including one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent. When Spacey expressed interest in theater, he said, his father “used to yell at me at the idea that I might be gay.” He added that his team advised him to post it because they saw it as the wisest way to manage “a crisis that was going to get worse.” He was fired from the show in 2017 over the sexual harassment allegations and earlier this year ordered to cover resulting losses by [according to](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/kevin-spacey-trial-anthony-rapp-emotional-testimony-1235240059/) the Hollywood Reporter. [was dismissed](https://www.forbes.com/sites/joewalsh/2021/06/17/anonymous-accuser-dismissed-from-lawsuit-against-kevin-spacey) from the case last year after U.S. The lawsuit, filed in September 2020, alleged that Spacey placed Rapp on a bed and climbed on top of him in a sexual manner at a party held at Spacey’s Manhattan residence in 1986, when Rapp was 14 and Spacey was 26. He came out as gay in the same statement. [was dropped](https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/07/17/cape-prosecuotors-drop-charge-against-actor-kevin-spacey/SwsMJZtNZ0Jh642UpgGCTO/story.html) in 2019 “due to the unavailability of the complaining witness,” and a lawsuit in California [was dismissed](https://deadline.com/2019/12/kevin-spacey-massage-therapist-sexual-assault-1202818955/) that same year after the accuser died. The actors met while on Broadway. The jury deliberated for a little over an hour. Variety [reported that](https://variety.com/2022/film/news/kevin-spacey-trial-anthony-rapp-testify-sexual-assault-traumatic-1235401505/) Rapp described the encounter as “the most traumatic single event of my life.”

UPDATED with more details: The jury in Anthony Rapp's $40 million sexual misconduct lawsuit against Kevin Spacey has found the two-time Oscar winner not ...

He added that Rapp’s success as an actor and his stable, monogamous married life are inconsistent with PTSD, which the actor said interferes with normal everyday functioning. The defense attacked that claim, noting Rapp’s success as an actor and his stable, monogamous married life — which are inconsistent with PTSD, which he said interferes with normal everyday functioning. In her closing argument, Keller hammered away at the contradicting recollections of Rapp and Spacey, saying the gist of the Star Trek: Discovery actor’s allegations are due to his 35-year “vendetta” against the defendant. “His story depends on the existence of a bedroom,” Keller said. Rapp’s sexual misconduct allegations are among several that made Spacey an early focus of the #MeToo movement in 2017. Saying Rapp “cooked up that lie out of thin air” was, in Steigman’s words, “a defense to a lawsuit: nothing more and nothing less. Spaceey is deeply grateful for the jury system and for this jury in particular.” Keller began her closing statement by showing jurors a photo of the studio apartment that Spacey occupied in 1986. As the verdict was read, a facemasked Spacey lowered his head and then appeared to wipe away tears. The Rapp team’s psychologist, Lisa Rocchio, Later, Spacey attorney Jennifer Keller told the crowd, “This was a highly intelligent, highly educated jury — I think 11 of the 12 were college grads. They had deliberated [for only an hour-plus](https://deadline.com/2022/10/kevin-spacey-trial-anthony-rapp-closing-arguments-1235150709/), after eight days of testimony.

The verdict in the civil trial came with lightning speed. Jurors at a federal court in New York deliberated for a little more than an hour before deciding that ...

[criminal investigation ](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2019-10-29/kevin-spacey-massage-therapist-criminal-case)dropped and a [civil suit](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2019-12-31/kevin-spacey-sexual-assault-case-dismissed) was dismissed in Los Angeles after the accuser died. [Spacey also has been hit with a $31 million bill ](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2022/08/04/kevin-spacey-pay-nearly-31-million-house-of-cards-netflix/10243533002/)after a private arbitrator ruled, and a Los Angeles judge affirmed in August, that Spacey and his production companies must pay the makers of Netflix's "House of Cards" because of losses brought on by his 2017 firing for the sexual harassment of crew members. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in July; his trial is scheduled for June 2023. Kaplan responded by saying Steigman's statement “shouldn't happen” and that if the jury ruled in Rapp's favor, attorneys may need to make written arguments over the issue. Spacey also gave courtroom spectators a brief taste of his acting chops when he briefly imitated his Broadway costar at the time, Jack Lemon. Kaplan when she complained that Steigman broke trial rules when he finished his summation by telling jurors that he hopes “you don't let him get away with it this time.” That there was no truth to any of the allegations,” she added, a reference to other sexual misconduct claims against the actor, including criminal charges in England. He said the actor, then 26, picked him up and briefly laid on top of him on a bed. Rapp and his lawyers also left the courthouse without speaking to reporters. “Sometimes the simple truth is the best. When the verdict was read, Spacey dropped his head, then hugged his lawyers. Jurors at a federal court in New York deliberated for a little more than an hour before deciding that Rapp hadn't proven his allegations.

The civil trial in Anthony Rapp's $40 million sexual misconduct lawsuit against Kevin Spacey is in the hands of the jury after lawyers for both sides ...

His sexual misconduct allegations are among several that made Spacey an early focus of the #MeToo movement in 2017. Saying Rapp “cooked up that lie out of thin air” was, in Steigman’s words, “a defense to a lawsuit: nothing more and nothing less. Deliberations by the remaining 11 jurors are expected to begin this afternoon. She also hammered away at the contradicting recollections of Rapp and Spacey, saying the gist of the Star Trek: Discovery actor’s allegations are due to his 35-year “vendetta” against the defendant. Kaplan said that the time for that was not now but noted that, should the verdict go against Spacey, the “this line” language could be an issue for any potential appeal. The courtroom will be dark Friday, so the panel would continue its deliberations Monday, if necessary.

Content warning: This story includes sexual assault allegations. A jury has decided that Kevin Spacey did not molest Rent actor Anthony Rapp when Rapp was ...

[30 men](https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/11/3/16602628/kevin-spacey-sexual-assault-allegations-house-of-cards). Next year, the actor will go to trial again in the U.K., facing [four counts of sexual assault](https://www.them.us/story/kevin-spacey-has-been-charged-with-four-counts-of-sexual-assault). But in 2021 Judge Kaplan, who presided over the case, [dismissed his claims](https://www.vulture.com/2021/06/kevin-spacey-sexual-assault-accuser-dropped-from-lawsuit.html) for refusing to use his full name in the suit. [filed suit](https://www.them.us/story/kevin-spacey-anthony-rapp-sexual-assault-lawsuit) against Spacey in 2020. According to the Times, Spacey’s legal representation tried to argue that Rapp had invented the encounter. Jurors said that Rapp’s legal representation failed to prove that Spacey “touched a sexual or intimate part” of Rapp’s body.

A jury found Mr. Spacey not liable in a civil trial. Mr. Rapp, an original cast member in “Rent,” had filed a lawsuit accusing Mr. Spacey of making a sexual ...

Mr. Holtzman was 27 and Mr. Spacey’s initial response to Mr. Spacey’s career or frustrated that Mr. Rapp called the alleged encounter with Mr. Rapp joining us,” Mr. Rapp testified, Mr. Back at Mr. Feeling that Mr. Following the verdict, Mr. A jury found Mr. The civil trial to consider Mr.

El actor estadounidense Kevin Spacey, centro, sale de la Corte Daniel Patrick Moynihan el jueves 20 de octubre de 2022 en Nueva York. (Andres Kudacki / ...

Las acusaciones de Rapp y de otros interrumpieron abruptamente lo que había sido una carrera deslumbrante para el actor galardonado con dos Premios de la Academia, quien terminó por perder su trabajo en la serie de Netflix “House of Cards” y vio perdidas otras oportunidades. Declaró que el actor, de entonces 26 años, lo cargó y se recostó sobre él brevemente en una cama. Que no había verdad en ninguna de las acusaciones”, agregó, en referencia a otras demandas por una conducta sexual inapropiada interpuestas contra el actor, incluyendo cargos penales en Inglaterra. La simple verdad es que esto ocurrió”. Rapp y sus abogados también salieron de la corte sin hablar con los reporteros. “A veces la simple verdad es mejor.

Para garantizar que el San Diego Union-Tribune en Español continúe sano y robusto, su donación, en cualquier medida, es ahora más importante que nunca.

Un jurado de Nueva York declaró este jueves que Kevin Spacey no es responsable de agresión en la demanda del actor Anthony Rapp.

"Esto no es un deporte de equipo en el que o estás en el lado del Me Too, o estás en el otro lado", dijo Keller al jurado. "El punto de la historia no es que Kevin Spacey sea gay. ¿Dónde está la prueba de que haya dicho a cualquier medio de comunicación, ya sabes, Kevin Spacey es gay, realmente deberías publicar esto?" Lo tengo claro", dijo Steigman, burlándose del intento de Spacey de convencer al jurado de que fue coaccionado por los publicistas para dar la declaración anterior de la que ahora se arrepiente. "Cuando simplemente llegas al tribunal y cuentas la verdad de tu experiencia, especialmente una como ésta, es un poco complicado". Según la ley de Nueva York, la agresión consiste en tocar a otra persona, sin su consentimiento, de un modo que una persona razonable consideraría ofensivo.

'Star Trek: Discovery' actor Anthony Rapp accused Kevin Spacey of molesting him in the '80s, when he was a teenager. On Thursday, a jury concluded ...

“I sincerely hope that survivors continue to tell their stories and fight for accountability.” Before the verdict, Rapp received support from fellow actor Alex Winter. The lawsuit sought $40 million in damages. After a three-week civil trial, a federal court concluded Thursday that Spacey, 63, did not sexually abuse Rapp, 50. Deliberations lasted a little more than an hour. “I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have my case heard before a jury, and I thank the members of the jury for their service,” he said in a

Jury deliberated for a little more than an hour before deciding Rapp hadn't proven his allegations.

Spacey also gave courtroom spectators a brief taste of his acting chops when he briefly imitated his Broadway costar at the time, Jack Lemon. Rapp’s claims, and those of others, abruptly interrupted what had been a soaring career for the two-time Academy Award winning actor, who lost his job on the Netflix series “House of Cards” and saw other opportunities dry up. He said the actor, then 26, picked him up and briefly laid on top of him on a bed. Rapp and his lawyers also left the courthouse without speaking to reporters. That there was no truth to any of the allegations,” she added, a reference to other sexual misconduct claims against the actor, including criminal charges in England. When the verdict was read, Spacey dropped his head, then hugged his lawyers.

A New York City jury found actor Kevin Spacey not liable for the assault and battery of Anthony Rapp on Thursday, after Rapp civilly sued the embattled ...

Spacey was charged earlier this year in the U.K. Spacey’s legal team pointed to alleged inconsistencies in Rapp’s claims, like him recalling the incorrect number of rooms in the apartment Spacey lived in at the time. After spending the night out together with one of Rapp’s friends, Rapp said Spacey invited him to a party at Spacey’s apartment, and Rapp went into a different room to watch TV, where the alleged assault took place. He was previously charged in Massachusetts for an alleged 2016 assault, but prosecutors I was pinned underneath him,” Rapp testified, saying he came forward “because I knew I was not the only one who Kevin Spacey made inappropriate sexual advances to.” In his initial response to the 2017 allegations, Spacey came out as gay and apologized to Rapp, while claiming he didn’t remember the encounter—but at trial, Spacey said he regretted issuing that statement and only released it on the advice of his PR team. Spacey also said at trial he took so long to speak about his sexuality because his father “was a white supremacist and a neo-Nazi” who openly disliked the idea that Spacey could be gay.

Anthony Rapp-Kevin Spacey verdict exonerates Spacey in child sex abuse suit. But it unfairly implicates #MeToo and hurts silent survivors.

There was no reason to allow the trial to demonize a movement that encourages reporting sex crimes and discourages sexual abuse. For the defense in this case, it was a good gamble to appeal to anti-#MeToo sentiment since surveys find that it’s rampant in some populations. [called the Rapp-Spacey trial](https://variety.com/2022/film/news/kevin-spacey-anthony-rapp-metoo-trials-harvey-weinstein-danny-masterson-paul-haggis-1235392113/) a #MeToo case raising issues of “power imbalances … As a matter of principle, we should want anyone alleging a sex crime to have the evidence presented to a jury to determine what happened. The jurors should not have been asked — as they effectively were — to put a movement on trial based on innuendo and speculation about its role in Rapp’s suit. There was a lot of fear in the air about who was going to be next.” [ He defiantly proclaimed](https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/celebrity/kevin-spacey-trial-verdict-reached-jurors-sex-abuse-suit-brought-antho-rcna53266) that his lawsuit was “part of the larger movement to stand up against all forms of sexual violence.” But in doing so, it was made to view this evidence through the lens of insinuations about the #MeToo movement and speculation about its impact on Rapp’s allegations. It’s not an accident the jury was put in that position, though. [The focus of the testimony the jury heard](https://apnews.com/article/kevin-spacey-anthony-rapp-lawsuit-explainer-5c7c5c6dbabb893867423c8b73669b9c) concerned a decades-old allegation of sexual assault when Rapp, then 14, was a guest in Spacey’s apartment. He told the jury he remembered having no interest in Rapp, who was “like a kid” the night he met him. As the proceedings unfolded, it was clear that the #MeToo movement’s legitimate efforts to empower silent survivors of sexual abuses to disclose their suffering and end the scourge of sexual assault were being challenged, too.

Addressing a crowd outside the Manhattan courtroom, Rapp lawyer Richard Steigman said: “The jury spoke. Anthony told his truth. We respect the jury's verdict, ...

Rapp later issued his own statement, saying he was “deeply grateful” that he had a chance to tell his story. Anthony told his truth. The jury came in after just an hour of deliberations and found two-time Oscar winner Spacey not liable for damages.