Kevin Spacey says he was ‘too handsy’ and 'pushed the boundaries' in the past
Kevin Spacey has described himself as “pushing the boundaries” and “being too handsy” in the past in an interview with Piers Morgan.The two-time Oscar winner won a US civil lawsuit after being accused of an unwanted sexual advance at a party in 1986, and last year was acquitted at Southwark Crown Court after being accused of sexually assaulting four men in the period between 2001 and 2013.
He has always denied any criminal wrongdoing, and misconduct allegations.
But Spacey, known for the US adaptation of House of Cards along with American Beauty, admitted in the interview on YouTube channel Piers Morgan Uncensored he had been “pushing the boundaries”.
When asked how, he said: “Being too handsy, touching someone sexually in a way that I didn’t know at the time they didn’t want.”
“I have caressed people, I have been gentle with people, that is the way that I am,” he added in response to accusations.
“You’re making a pass at someone, you don’t want to be aggressive. You want to be gentle. You want to see if they’re going to respond positively.”
He added: “They should let you know they don’t want to do it so that you can understand it’s non-consensual and stop.”
The actor also denied fresh claims of inappropriate behaviour that were aired in a Channel 4 documentary titled Spacey Unmasked, which he criticised.
A spokesperson for Channel 4 previously said: “Spacey Unmasked is an important film exploring the balance of power and inappropriate behaviour in a work environment, aiming to give a voice to those who have previously been unable to speak out.”
In 2022, Spacey was sued at the High Court in London by a man who claimed he had been sexually assaulted by Spacey and suffered “psychiatric damage”.
The case was paused during his criminal trial, but has since restarted following a hearing in May.
Famous faces including Sharon Stone, Liam Neeson and Stephen Fry have been campaigning for his return to acting in statements to the Telegraph newspaper in May.
Spacey’s two Academy Awards were for best supporting actor for The Usual Suspects in 1996 and best actor in 2000 for American Beauty, which also secured him a Bafta for leading actor.
Spacey also revealed his home is being sold at auction to settle legal bills following the allegations of sexual misconduct made against him.
He was asked about how he is living at the moment.
He replied saying: “This week, where I have been living in Baltimore is being foreclosed on, my house is being sold at auction.
“So I have to go back to to Baltimore and put all my things in storage. So the answer to that question is I’m not quite sure where I’m going to live now, but I’ve been in Baltimore… since we started shooting House of Cards there… I moved there (to the city) in 2012.”
When asked why, he replied saying: “I can’t pay the bills that I owe.
“A couple of times when I thought I was going to file (for bankruptcy), but we’ve managed to sort of dodge it, at least as of today.”
Spacey said he owed “many millions” of dollars due to legal bills, and seemed emotional at several points during the lengthy interview, which was conducted in person.
He was sacked from Netflix’s House of Cards when the 2017 allegations emerged during the show’s sixth season, and later edited out of the movie All The Money In The World and replaced by Christopher Plummer, who had to reshoot scenes at the last minute.
