Kevin Spacey defends himself in a $40 million sexual assault case in Manhattan

Kevin Spacey arrives at a federal court in New York City on Thursday morning as a trial over allegations he sexually abused actor Anthony Rapp at the age of 14 began.

Rapp filed a lawsuit against Spacey in 2020, alleging that Spacey made unwelcome sexual advances toward him at a 1986 party at Spacey’s Manhattan residence. According to the lawsuit, Rapp claimed Spacey of grasping his buttocks, lifting him onto a bed, and then laying down on him, prompting Rapp to flee to the bathroom “fearing for his safety.”

Rapp stated that he exited the toilet a few minutes later and then fled the residence despite Spacey’s efforts to convince him to remain. At the time, Spacey would have been 26 years old.

Rapp is requesting $40 million in damages from the court.

Spacey has denied the charges.

“We look forward to a jury trial with genuine evidence rather than a trial by social media,” his attorney Jennifer Keller told Reuters on Wednesday.

The trial began Thursday morning with jury selection, and Judge Lewis A. Kaplan is presiding.

On October 6, 2022, Anthony Rapp enters at the federal courthouse in Manhattan as the trial for his complaint against Kevin Spacey begins.

Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Rapp, who originated a role in the musical “Rent,” detailed the alleged assault in a BuzzFeed News article published at the outset of the Me Too campaign.

The disclosure led to an avalanche of more men coming forward with similar charges against Spacey, and the Academy Award-winning actor became an outcast in the business almost immediately. He was sacked from his main role on the Netflix series “House of Cards” and digitally removed from the film “All the Money in the World” as J. Paul Getty.

Spacey is also facing criminal sexual assault allegations in the United Kingdom for alleged occurrences with three accusers that occurred between March 2005 and April 2013. This trial is slated to begin in June, and Spacey has entered a not guilty plea.