The jury in the trial between actors Anthony Rapp and Kevin Spacey took around 80 minutes yesterday to throw out Rapp’s $40million lawsuit.
Rapp originally sued Spacey for assault, battery and intentionally inflicting emotional distress. It dated back to an alleged incident at a party Spacey hosted at his New York apartment in 1986. Rapp, then 14, says Spacey, 26, tried to initiate a sexual encounter with him.
Rapp’s allegations first came to light in a Buzzfeed article in 2017. It appeared in the wake of the growing #MeToo movement in the entertainment industry.
Related: John Barrowman recalls encounter with Kevin Spacey when he was 19
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During the two-week trial, Spacey’s defense team successfully persuaded the judge to drop the “intentionally inflicting emotional distress” charge, essentially reducing the case to sexual battery.
Rapp’s team had asked for $40million in damages for “emotional anguish.” However, the jury unanimously agreed Rapp failed to prove Spacey “touched a sexual or intimate body part” and that Spacey was “not liable.” Judge Lewis Kaplan subsequently dismissed the civil case.
“I sincerely hope that victims can continue to tell their stories”
Rapp posted a statement to Twitter shortly after the judge dismissed the case.
“I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have my case heard before a jury, and I thank the members of the jury for their service,” he said.
“Bringing this lawsuit was always about shining a light, as part of the larger movement to stand up against all forms of sexual violence.
“I pledge to keep on advocating for efforts to ensure that we can live and work in a world that is free from sexual violence of any kind. I sincerely hope that victims can continue to tell their stories and fight for accountability.”
— Anthony Rapp SAG-AFTRA National & NY Board Member (@albinokid) October 20, 2022
Spacey’s attorney responds to verdict
Spacey’s lawyer said in a statement afterward, “Mr. Spacey is grateful to live in a country where the citizens have a right to trial by impartial jurors who make their decision based on evidence and not rumor or social media.”
Spacey’s lawyer’s consistently attacked the credibility of Rapp’s recollections in court. In particular, they focussed on his memory of Spacey picking him up and carrying him to a bedroom. Rapp claims Spacey placed him on a bed and lay on top of him, grazing his hand against his buttocks before Rapp was able to “wriggle” away and leave.
Spacey said he was living in a studio apartment at the time with no separate bedroom.
Rapp’s attorney, Pete Saghir, told AFP his client had “told his truth in court” and “while we respect the jury’s verdict, nothing changes what happened to him.”
Related: Kevin Spacey’s defense team aggressively quiz Anthony Rapp in sexual misconduct trial
Besides this civil case, other men have come forward to make allegations against Spacey. He faces a separate criminal trial in the UK.
In August, Spacey was also ordered by a judge in Los Angeles to pay the producers of the Netflix show, House of Cards, $31million to cover losses they incurred after firing him in 2017 after allegations emerged of him sexually harassing crew members.
southernway
Spacey’s attorneys have filed an appeal on the 31 million lawsuit to have it overturned or vacated. Based upon this verdict he might win and Rapp should seek a better psychiatric doctor to sort out his false memory syndrome that impedes his connection with reality. Go home Rapp and maybe just concentrate or your b level career.
dbmcvey
That he lost doesn’t mean that Spacey is innocent or the incident didn’t happen.
Kevin Spacey is a known creep who gaslighted the gay community for years and then came out when he was in trouble.
Now, what have you done that is better than Rapp’s “b level career?”
MacAdvisor
This was a civil trial with Rapp only needing to show his version was more likely than not. That is a very low standard of proof and he didn’t even get that far. Moreover, testimony showed Rapp thought he was carried into a separate room, the bedroom, and the apartment Spacey had at the time was a studio. While all this isn’t absolute proof of Spacey’s innocence, it is rather convincing. As for Spacey being a well-known creep, so far, he has won every case brought against him. Neither of us know Spacey personally, so our opinions about him are formed solely from media reports. Perhaps we should now think about cutting Spacey some slack.
inbama
I still don’t understand how Rapp went to court with a story so very different than the one he told Queerty. When was the original article – two years ago?
Cam
Except you’re lying. The 31 million dollars was because Spacey was proven to have created an illegally hostile work environment and forced Netflix to lose that show. It has literally nothing to do with the Rapp case.
@inbama
Always fun when the right wing troll brings out additional names to try to support it’s post.
The only problem is, Rapp told the story in 2000 during an interview with the Advocate Magazine and they chose to not name Spacey.
Sharky
Cam, I’m really interested to know how you’re so adamant there’s only one right-wing troll here on Queerty. Do you have some undisclosed access to IP addresses of commenters? Perhaps you’ve done forensic analysis of writing styles? I really would love to know.
Or here’s another possibility – there’s actually more than one person out there, and on Queerty who has a different viewpoint than you. Scary isn’t it.
frapachino
@Sharky why bother engaging with that guy he is clearly not a rational thinking person.
abfab
Weekend watch party for KS. Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil. Then, American Beauty.
bachy
STOP the resurgent, NEO-PURITANICAL HYSTERIA!
Ronbo
The “me too” jaggernaut here at Queerty was wrong yet again. The editors here need perspective – at least some perspective – even a tiny bit. The jury made their decision PDQ – not guilty even in a civil case!!! Editors shoud not be half-truth extremists – they should aim for the truth, the whole truth and noting but the truth.
When editors push false themes and misinformation, they need to demote or fire the person in charge of their yellow journalism. Otherwise, they just keep pushing away from logic and reason – hurting the community with their falsehoods.
Like his pevious (for-profitable?) smear of progressive gay candidate Alex Morse, the primary suspect is once again the anti-gay Graham Gremore. How much did Graham earn publishing multiple false stories at Queerty to help Rep. Richard Neal – the conservative neoliberal who protected tRump?
None of us want this crap to continue. Please remove the error-prone editors who consistently push against common sense. The jury saw all the evidence; did an editor see a profit to be made – or did they just want to punish someone with actual talent?
Neoprene
Well, I guess that’s a Rapp then…BWAAAA HAAAAA HAAAAA!
Donston
Here come the predictably callous, idiotic comments. Unless he had witnesses, there was no way Rapp was going to win this, especially with it happening 30 years ago. I’m not sure why he sued. Come forward and tell your story. But suing for an un-winnable case serves no purpose.
Spacey is a well-known creep who has consistently gone at underage people, constantly pushed up on folks who make it clear they’re not interested, has constantly looked to bribe subordinates and people with less power. There’s a reason he’s never truly denied any of the tons of allegations from tons of people. Anyone using this moment to defend Spacey or come at victims of sexual assault/abuse, know that you’re a scumbag.
inbama
For god sake, thirty years ago, if some guy groped a gay man you slapped his hand and said “no thanks.” This was COMMON in bars, bathhouses, crowded subway cars, the back rows of movie theaters, and, yes, gay parties.
How is it that in times of more oppression, we were mentally stronger? Today’s queens react to male behavior as if they were Victorian schoolgirls whose entire human value rested on their purity.
Scarred for life? Sure, and the cure is money.
TheMarc
@Donston Exactly! Well said!
TheMarc
@inbama Surely you’re not using the argument that “it was accepted then so it’s okay.” A lot of crappy things were okay in the past that we recognize as abhorrent today. The time period doesn’t excuse it. And frankly, it’s not okay NOW. Unwelcome, nonconsensual sexual contact should not be tolerated no matter who the victim or the perpetrator are. That “male behavior” argument is BS. Just justification for creeps to keep being creepy. Not that hard to keep your hands off people that don’t want them on them. I understand that for some, hungrily groping people who didn’t ask for it is the only “play” they’re going to get; but that’s their problem; not everyone else’s.
inbama
@TheMarc
I’m glad I came of age when gay men were still men.
You queers are pathetic.
LumpyPillows
It was a civil suit, so not that hard. Spacey does not have a history of going after underage men. There is a pattern now of men falsely accusing him. Maybe you need to consider you may not actually be right.
frapachino
Spare us your self righteous sanctimonious sour grapes please.
sfhairy
Do I think Spacey is an angel, no, but he’s been acquitted of this accusation. I wonder if he’s going to sue Rapp for defamation of character.
Donston
“No Angel” is an understatement. He spent decades hitting on guys 16 and younger. He had a full-on “affair” with a high-schooler. He has harassed folks and tried to bribe folks who make it clear that they have no interests in him. That’s beyond someone being “no Angel”. Yes, Rapp should not have sued. The situation he described doesn’t really constitute assault. Never mind it being 30 years ago and him having no evidence or witnesses. Suing just made him look money hungry.
MacAdvisor
Spacey can’t sue for defamation. The legal concept of res judicata prevents it. Spacey would have needed to file a counter cause of action in this case as the matter stems from the same incident or set of circumstances. Once a final verdict in a case is rendered, the parties may not re-litigate the same matter again.
inbama
@Donston
“He spent decades hitting on guys 16 and younger?”
One other such accusation on the heels of Rapp. He sure came on empty-handed a lot.
frapachino
@Donston seriously dude give it a rest, do you have some kind of personal vendetta against this guy? How dare you throw out such vile accusations , and based on what? Gossip?
GlobeTrotter
Shame on Anthony Rapp for even bringing this lawsuit to begin with. Kevin Spacey’s no angel, and god knows I’ve met a creep or two in similar vein over the years, but the facts of the case do not and have never added up to “assault, battery and intentionally inflicting emotional distress” to the tune of $40 million.
First of all, Anthony Rapp was already playing the role of a teenager opposite Kevin Spacey every evening on stage, which called for Kevin Spacey’s character to briefly climb on top of the teenage character. They would have rehearsed or acted that scene dozens, maybe even hundreds of times together, so it strains credibility to believe that Rapp would have suffered such debilitating emotional distress from having Kevin Spacey briefly climb on top of him.
From what I understand Anthony Rapp was an impressionable gay teenager with a little crush on Kevin Spacey, who managed to get himself invited to one of Spacey’s parties. This is no different from how any of us felt as teenagers, in my case I had crushes on several male teachers in high school. Anthony Rapp finally found himself alone with a drunk Kevin Spacey, who flirtatiously suggested they re-enact their scene from the play. Spacey climbed on top of Rapp, who quickly realized he had gotten way over his head (Kevin Spacey was a well-known, professional manhunter) and asked Spacey to quit fooling around. Spacey complied and left the room in search of new prey to flirt with – END OF STORY!
No one was hurt, no one was coerced to do anything he didn’t want to do, no one was forcibly touched, no one was “assaulted, battered or inflicted with emotional distress”. This was nothing more than a shameless attempt at a shake down, riding on the coat tails of the Me Too movement. I’m so glad the jury put an end to this whole charade.
David Hudson
Kevin Spacey was not in the play with the 14-year-old Anthony Rapp. Ed Harris played opposite Rapp in the scene you refer to in that play.
GlobeTrotter
Thanks for the correction!
abfab
And there’s the only real HOT part of this entire drama. Thanks for that important correction and thank you Ed Harris for being so HOT.
KS is an interesting actor, but HOT? Not.
Cam
Except, as you did before under your other screename you’re lying.
Rapp looked about 9 years old if you see the photo from the play. But it’s cute how you, the Republican right wing troll is always desperately defending anybody accused of any type of child molesting. I guess that just goes along with being a Republican.
conbonjr
A quick fact check: Kevin Spacey & Anthony Rapp were NOT starring in the same show at this time. Anthony Rapp was in “Precious Sons” and Kevin Spacey was in “Long Day’s Journey Into Night”. I am not familiar with “Precious Sons”, but I believe Anthony Rapp performed that scene opposite Ed Harris (or possibly William O’Leary, per IBDB.com). It is 100% not true that Rapp & Spacey “would have rehearsed or acted that scene dozens, maybe even hundreds of times together”.
Even if they were in the same play together, there is a HUGE difference between 2 actors performing a scripted scene for a play in front of a creative team during rehearsal or in front of an audience vs a drunk 26-year-old adult trying to “flirtatiously suggested they re-enact their scene from the play” with a 14-year-old in a private room with no one else around. When minors appear in plays, movies, or TV shows, they are legally required to have an adult guardian on set with them at all times. When Rapp accepted the role in “Precious Sons”, Rapp & his legal guardian would have had to consent to him performing that scene with an adult actor. Rapp clearly did not consent to an actor from another play trying to reenact a scene from his own play in a private room. Even if Anthony Rapp had a “crush” on Spacey and Rapp begged Spacey to have sex with him, a 14-year-old cannot legally consent to having sex with an adult in the US. When Spacey found him asleep in his bed, he should have woken him up and sent him home, not jump on top of him. “I was drunk” is not a valid defense. I am baffled as to why Rapp’s legal guardian allowed him to go to the party in Spacey’s apartment, but him being there without his legal guardian does not mean he could have legally given consent.
Man About Town
“Emotional anguish” — hah! What nonsense!
Sometimes justice does prevail. And this whiny little creep should be forced to pay all the court costs!
cuteguy
I cannot stand Kevin Spacey and I hope he stays cancelled but even tho Spacey was 26, where was this guys parents bc he was only 14?! I know they say don’t blame the victim but what about the parents. Where is their responsibility?
abfab
Stage parents encourage their little rug rats to attend all the right parties. It’s nothing new. Of course having the right PR agent along with the demanding parents helps.
abfab
And his attorney wanted a big chunk of that. Can’t forget about the attorney. I never heard of this Rap character before all this bullshit hit the press. Who the F is he? And I must ask….is he Gay? Will he work again? Do I really care?
Kangol2
Abfab, Rapp was in the original cast version of Rent, hello? He also starred in the movie version that came out in 1996. It was one of the biggest hits on Broadway for years. He also returned for the 2009 touring version.
He’s been in a number of movies, including Six Degrees of Separation, A Beautiful Mind and Dazed and Confused. You might not have heard of him but quite a few people have.
Also, he’s currently starring on Star Trek: New Discovery and has been featured on Queerty more than once, partially because of his on screen kiss and relationship with Wilson Cruz’s character on that same show.
Diplomat
They rolled around on a bed and Spacey touched his ass? And that’s it?! And Rapp wanted 40 million dollars in damages?! What a pure f****** crock!
Cam
Wow, the right wing troll brought in FIVE screenames to defend Spacey…….
Kangol2
He was FOURTEEN. Spacey was 26! Spacey dodged a huge one thanks to this jury.
BTW, what happened to the other person, who did not want his name known public, who was suing Spacey alongside Rapp, claiming that Spacey abused him when he was 13 and Spacey was 23?
LumpyPillows
Yeah, the $40 million makes no sense even if it did happen. And good old cam is off his meds again.
Diplomat
Kongol,
Still, the max payout today for rape is 2 to 3M on average. And that’s horrifying to go through. I know as I’ve been through the legal battle suing my abuser. I was 9 he was 18 at the time of the incidents.
A touch on the butt w no sex isn’t worth 5 bux. The jury decided correctly in this case tho Spacey may have done far worse with other boys.
Cam
What a perfect comment on America.
An individual exposes somebody for bad behavior. A corporation investigates based upon the information the individual released, sues, gets 31 million dollars.
The individual who started the whole thing, sues, and gets nothing.
The court system of America in a nutshell.
cuteguy
I don’t argue that Rapp should get something but at the very least he exposed Spacey for the as$hole he truly is. That is priceless
inbama
Well, Camille,
You’re half right.
They never should’ve fired Spacey on unproven charges, and that they were allowed to hit him up for damages was outrageous.
Anyone who expects actors and actresses to be virtuous is a moron.
Toofie
The thing is, you need some kind of proof that this happened 35 years ago.
ingyaom
Strangely, this article didn’t mention that Kevin Spacey is still in very big criminal legal trouble in the United Kingdom.
LumpyPillows
The UK accusations are very troubling, unlike the phony case Rapp had, or that lying bartender.
PinkoOfTheGange
It is the last 2 paragraphs? 🙂
Fahd
Not to be an ¨I told you so¨, but I knew Spacey´s lawyers would be the only winners in this one. When the judge threw out the emotional distress claim without letting it go to the jury, it was clear the case was a dud.
This case shows that the U.S. legal system works. Rapp´s lawyers couldn´t prove emotional distress and they couldn´t prove intimate touching/sexual battery – btw, in a civil case “prove” means show that it is “more likely than not” that something occurred; a pretty low standard of proof. However, the burden of proof is on the plaintiff, and if they can’t prove their case, they shouldn’t prevail. Also, what does one want from Rapp’s lawyers, this is a very old case with old evidence and old memories and was only able to be brought because the former statute of limitations had been lifted by a new state law. Other victims of sexual misconduct in other cases will be able to collect, nevertheless, so in the big picture things will work out for the better.
It’s too bad this story is now on every news show around the world (Spacey innocent!), because
Spacey is not “innocent” in any sense of the word, and we all know it. From what I have read, the world is full of teenagers whose dick Spacey has grabbed and more. He’s probably settled with several and there are more cases to come. It’s not over till it’s over, and it’s a long way from over for him. I hope he has embraced the help he should be getting and which he needs.
(Btw, “the everybody did it back then” or “they’re just after his money” or other variation on the “what about Hilary? defense” has no relevance in these individual cases, especially the pending criminal cases in the UK.)
inbama
“From what I have read, the world is full of teenagers whose dick Spacey has grabbed and more…”
Where did you read this?
seven5tx
Why was a 14yo alone at an adult party? BTW as a legal adult I have had my crotch groped several times by 14 and younger. I just brushed the hand away and went on with business. I was a photographer at Sears
jackscott
Now hopefully we don’t need to hear from Rapp again, until he wants to litigate some other thing that might have happened many years ago! This case was a dog from the start, I’m glad the jury could see through this money grab. Let’s face it, Spacey isn’t an angle and has probably done plenty of bad things. The problem is Rapp never told people (i.e. his therapist), still watched movies with Spacey and had a fine career… there wasn’t any harm done to him. However, me too allowed him to get in the spotlight, he comes off as very desperate, especially with his friend John (of legal age) indicated that Spacey hit on him & not Rapp. Seems like Rapp is just seeking attention.
frapachino
Look at everyone here who really really really want the accusations to be true (even though it’s now been determined in a court of law that they are not) sad.