Kevin Spacey Seeks Treatment in Face of New Sexual Assault Allegations

If you’re waiting for Kevin Spacey to hold himself accountable for the sexual assault allegations against him—don’t. The count has long surpassed that of Spacey’s academy awards, and now reports indicate that the Old Vic theater in London, where Spacey served as artistic director for 11 years, played an integral part of piling dirt on top of his skeletons.

On the day when other allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced, a former Old Vic employee told The Guardian, “We were all involved in keeping it quiet. I witnessed him groping men many times in all sorts of different situations.” Most public among these allegations is that of Anthony Rapp, who was 14 at the time of the alleged drunken Spacey assault. Spacey responded to Rapp’s accusations with a controversial apology, in which he deflected attention by coming out as gay.

A spokesperson for the Old Vic declined The N.Y. Times’ interview requests, while the theater’s statement to The Guardian said, “The Old Vic is not currently in a position to comment on specifics of what may have taken place in the past.” This did not deter the affected from coming forward to The NYT and other news outlets. The Old Vic has also set up a confidential email account ([email protected]) and encourages those targeted by inappropriate behavior to email them.

The Guardian reports that Roberto Cavazos, an actor involved at the Old Vic, said he recalled a “couple of unpleasant encounters” with Spacey, including being “squeezed” by him in the Old Vic bar. “It seems that it only took a male under 30 to make Mr Spacey feel free to touch us,” Cavazos said. Spacey is said to have invited many a young male actor to the Old Vic to “talk about their careers.” When they arrived, “a picnic with champagne” awaited them onstage.

And as of this afternoon, yet another man has come forward to accuse Spacey, telling Vulture that “at the age of 14 […] he began a sexual relationship with the actor, who was then 24, that ended with what he describes as an attempted rape.”

In a statement provided to The NYT yesterday, Spacey’s publicist said: “Kevin Spacey is taking the time necessary to seek evaluation and treatment.” It appears that Spacey has chosen to seek self-care and shirk responsibility for societal ills that stem from a similar lack of discussion—and lead directly to instances of violence. Not to mention that “coming out” to excuse violent behavior towards men is despicable—as The Guardian writes, “One of the age-old tropes deployed against gay and bisexual men is that they pose a threat to children, that they are synonymous with pedophiles and pederasts. This vicious lie has long proved useful in justifying the systematic persecution of gay and bisexual men.”

Meanwhile, violence speaks for itself and institutions are responding with swift justice. House of Cards, the popular Netflix show starring Spacey, has gotten the axe, with production on its final season suspended indefinitely.