Kevin Spacey denies ‘aggressive’ behavior in UK sex assault trial: ‘It was gentle…, romantic’

US actor Kevin Spacey arrives at the Southwark Crown Court in London on July 13, 2023. The award-winning actor, 63, is on trial in London accused of a string of sexual offenses by four men dating back more than 20 years. HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP

LONDON—Kevin Spacey said Thursday he was a “big flirt” but denied any “aggressive” behavior as the Hollywood actor entered the witness box of his sexual-assault trial in south London.

The Southwark Crown Court had earlier heard the testimony of four men, who cannot be named for legal reasons, accusing Spacey of sexual offenses between 2001 and 2013.

The actor, an Academy Award winner for “The Usual Suspects” and “American Beauty,” has denied all the charges.

One complainant alleged the actor assaulted him multiple times and, in particular, grabbed him while he was driving Spacey to a party, nearly causing him to “come off the road.”

Spacey in his testimony admitted to having touched the man, but said “it didn’t happen in a violent, aggressive, painful way.”

“It was gentle… and it was, in my mind, romantic,” Spacey, wearing a dark suit and glasses, told the jury.

Spacey described himself as a “big flirt” and claimed there was a mutual flirtation between the two men.

But the alleged victim “made it clear that he did not want to go any further,” the 63-year-old actor added.

Spacey said he felt “crushed” after the allegations were made against him, saying it was like a “stab in the back.”

Asked about the testimony of another alleged victim, who accused Spacey of making crude remarks at a West End theatre event before grabbing his crotch, Spacey described them as “madness” and denied it happened.

“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,” Spacey said.

He also claimed he didn’t recognize the complainant when shown a photo of him and said he remembered “not a great deal” from that day.

‘I lost everything’

Addressing claims from another accuser, who recounted that the actor performed a sex act on him while he was asleep, Spacey said they had shared an “intimate moment.”

He said that when the complainant, an aspiring actor, came back from the bathroom, he was “suddenly awkward and fumbling” and left in a rush.

“I remember the end of the evening and that was what struck me in my mind because we had a consensual and, I believe, a very nice and lovely evening,” Spacey added.

Spacey also said he “primarily” had no issue with the testimony of the fourth complainant, who said he rejected Spacey, whom he met at a country pub, after the actor allegedly kissed his neck and grabbed him in the groin.

“I made a pass and I’m only happy that he testified that the moment he told me he was not interested I stopped,” Spacey said.

Speaking about the time when the first accusations emerged against him in the US in 2017, Spacey said his world “exploded.”

“Before the first question was asked or answered I lost my job, I lost my reputation, I lost everything in a matter of days,” a visibly emotional Spacey told jurors.

Spacey at the time made a statement coming out as gay, which he said “upset” the LGBTQ community because he did it while “responding to an accusation.”

“Now I understand why it was read that way but I hadn’t put those two things together,” he said.

US actor Anthony Rapp brought a lawsuit against Spacey over the assault allegation but lost the case last year.  /ra

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