In recent weeks, there have been an unimaginable amount of women stepping forward and accusing powerful men in Hollywood of sexual assault. For many years, allegations have been swept under the rug until over 60 women publicly accused Harvey Weinstein. Since then, the list of those accused has been ever-growing. Most recently, “House of Cards” actor Kevin Spacey has joined that list.
Earlier this week, the actor Anthony Rapp stepped forward and accused Spacey of an incident of sexual assault that happened over 32 years ago. Rapp stated that Spacey had invited to a party where he made nonconsensual sexual advances toward him while intoxicated. When the incident became public knowledge, Spacey took to Twitter to settle the issue. In the first paragraph of the picture that was tweeted, Spacey stated, “I honestly do not remember the encounter … I owe him the sincerest apology for what would’ve been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior.”
Spacey was heavily criticized for what he revealed in the second paragraph. He stated, “I know that there are stories out there about me and that some have been fueled by the fact that I have been so protective of my privacy … I have loved and had romantic encounters with men throughout my life, and I choose now to live as a gay man.”
Although it is not uncommon for people to open up about being gay on Twitter, the manner in which Spacey did it, apologizing for sexual harassment and coming out as gay in the same tweet, was upsetting to many people. Some speculate that Spacey’s announcement about his sexual orientation was supposed to be a coverup or a distraction to the accusations. Spacey has not commented about it. His publicist has put out this statement on his behalf, “Kevin Spacey is taking the time necessary to seek evaluation and treatment. No other information is available at this time.”
As the list of accused men grows larger by the day, people can only hope for justice and the best for the victims.
