Kevin Spacey issues apology following accusation of sexual advance on 14-year-old

Kevin Spacey has apologised to Anthony Rapp after the actor alleged to BuzzFeed News that Spacey made sexual advances towards him when he was 14 years old. Spacey said that he did not remember the alleged incident and took the opportunity to come out and confirm he "choose[s] now to live as a gay man."

In 1986, Rapp, then 14, was appearing in Precious Sons on Broadway. He crossed paths with a 26-year-old Spacey at a party at Spacey's Manhattan apartment. “My memory was that I thought, Oh, everybody’s gone. Well, yeah, I should probably go home. [Spacey] sort of stood in the doorway, kind of swaying," Rapp said. "My impression when he came in the room was that he was drunk. He picked me up like a groom picks up the bride over the threshold. But I don’t, like, squirm away initially, because I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ And then he lays down on top of me. He was trying to seduce me. I don’t know if I would have used that language. But I was aware that he was trying to get with me sexually.” Rapp said he was able to talk his way out of the moment and leave.

Soon after BuzzFeed's story was published Spacey shared a statement via Twitter. “I have a lot of respect and admiration for Anthony Rapp as an actor," it started. "I’m beyond horrified to hear his story. I honestly do not remember the encounter, it would have been over 30 years ago. But if I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior, and I am sorry for the feelings he describes having carried with him all these years. This story has encouraged me to address other things about my life. 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. As those closest to me know, in my life I have had relationships with both men and women. I have loved and had romantic encounters with men throughout my life, and I choose now to live as a gay man. I want to deal with this honestly and openly and that starts with examining my own behavior.”

Anthony Rapp currently is now 46 and currently appearing in Star Trek: Discovery, where he plays one half of the sci-fi series's first same-sex couple. Spacey, now 58, is a multiple Oscar winner and star of Netflix's House Of Cards.