Tearful Kevin Spacey says ‘I lost everything in matter of days’ as he breaks down during sex assault trial
KEVIN Spacey today broke down as he claimed “I lost everything” during his sex assault trial today.
The Oscar-winning star, 63, is accused of attacking four men in charges dating back as far as 22 years.
He took to the stand for the first time today at Southwark Crown Court as his evidence started.
Spacey grew emotional as he told how his world “exploded” in 2017 when allegations about him first emerged on the internet.
The actor was seen dabbing his eyes with a tissue as he added: “There was a rush to judgment and before the first question was asked or answered I lost my job, I lost my reputation, I lost everything in a matter of days.”
Spacey earlier admitted he touched one of his alleged victims but claimed it was not in a “violent, aggressive, painful way”.
He instead told jurors it was “romantic” and “intimate”, adding: “I’m a big flirt”.
Spacey branded the man a “lad’s lad” and claimed he did not take things further because the alleged victim “made it clear that he did not want to go any further”.
He told the court when that happens, “you just respect how far someone wants to go”.
The man has accused “slippery” Spacey of grabbing his privates as they made their way to Elton John‘s White Tie and Tiara Ball.
He claimed it was “so hard I almost came off the road”.
But Spacey insisted he was “not a suicide mission” as he denied the incident ever happened.
The actor also said he was “crushed” when he first heard the man had made allegations against him and felt he’d been “stabbed in the back”.
He said: “We had a very fun time together.”
Spacey also described accusations by a second man he met at a West End theatre in the mid-2000s as “madness”.
He allegedly grabbed the man’s crotch “like a cobra” and subjected him to a “machine gun” of “vile comments”.
The American Beauty star said: “I never said any of the things that he claims I said to him and wouldn’t and never have to anyone in my life.”
“Sexual bully” Spacey is accused of attacking four men in charges dating back as far as 22 years.
Jurors heard how he was “turned on” by his alleged victims getting angry at him and believed they would not come forward due to his fame.
He “abused the power and influence that his reputation and fame afforded him” to target the four men, the court was told.
Spacey also took advantage of his “popularity and prominence, his illustriousness and influence” to take “what and who he wanted when he wanted”, it is said.
Jurors heard the four alleged victims were aged in their 20s or 30s when they “attracted the attention” of the star.
Despite not wanting to be “touched”, Spacey didn’t “care very much for their feelings” and “aggressively” groped them anyway, it was said.
Spacey pleaded not guilty to three counts of indecent assault, three counts of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, in January.
The star also denies four charges of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.
Spacey was stripped of an International Emmy Award in the wake of the claims.
His central character in acclaimed Netflix series House of Cards was also killed off after he was axed from the show.
The trial continues.