An aspiring actor has said Kevin Spacey is a “vile sexual predator” who drugged him before performing a sex act on him while he was asleep, a court heard.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he felt as if he was being “circled by a shark” during the alleged assault, which he described as “completely traumatic and life-ruining”.
He told Southwark crown court that Spacey was “atrocious, despicable and disgusting”, saying: “I was taken advantage of, and I believe drugged, [and] sexually assaulted.”
Spacey has previously denied 12 charges, including sexual assault and indecent assault, against four men in their 20s and 30s, between 2001 and 2013. The two-time Academy Award winner appeared in the dock on Monday on the seventh day of his month-long trial.
In a police interview that was played to court, the complainant broke down in tears as he detailed the alleged assault. He said he had been told before meeting Spacey that the House of Cards star liked “young straight guys” but that he did not know “at that point he was a predator”.
The man said he felt vulnerable during the alleged assault because of Spacey’s power in the theatre world. He said: “You don’t want to annoy someone that powerful, that high up in the business you are trying to break into. The social sway he had was massive. If he said someone wasn’t going to work, I imagine they wouldn’t work.”
The court heard the man met Spacey in 2008 after writing to the American Beauty star to ask for advice about his fledgling acting career. He said he was starstruck and felt “weirdly special” when Spacey called him a few weeks later and asked to meet him outside Waterloo station in south London for a beer.
He said he recalled going on a walk with Spacey and his dog before being taken to Spacey’s flat, saying: “He said: ‘This is my place, do you want to come up?’, to which I said: ‘Of course,’ because it’s Kevin Spacey.”
He said Spacey offered him leftover pizza and the pair drank beers and smoked weed. He said soon after, Spacey asked him for a hug before nuzzling his head into his crotch. “He’s rubbing his face into my crotch and I remember putting my hands up and seeing Kevin Spacey’s bald patch. I remember thinking this is so weird,” the man said.
He said there was an “uncomfortable air” and that his memory then became hazy. Describing the alleged sex act, the man continued: “Going to sleep isn’t something I would normally do. I don’t want to insinuate something untoward was going on but it was unusual in my behaviour just to conk out.
“I remember four to five hours later waking up – my belt was still together but my button and my zip were down and he was performing oral sex on me.”
The man said he reacted by saying “no” but Spacey continued. He said he pushed Spacey off, before adding: “Then he [Spacey] stopped and asked me to leave straight away. He said I shouldn’t talk to anyone about what had happened.”
He added: “In hindsight, it was just quite tactical. He [Spacey] had one thing he wanted to do. Come back, give me a few beers, a bit of weed, nuzzle his head into my crotch and he thought I would put out.”
Under cross-examination from Spacey’s lawyer Patrick Gibbs KC, the man rejected claims that he had manufactured the allegations for financial gain due to gambling problems.
“I think every single person in London has, to a point, money problems. I’m not doing this for the money but I do believe I am owed and I deserve to be remunerated due to the atrocious, despicable, disgusting nature of your client,” he said.
He also described Spacey as “a vile sexual predator who sexually assaulted and performed a sex act on me while I was asleep”.
The man said the suggestion that he had consented to the encounter to advance his acting career was abhorrent. “It’s the short skirt argument, just because I’m meeting someone for a drink and they’re gay I deserve that. This line of questioning is offensive,” he said.
The man also denied claims from Gibbs that he had questioned his own sexuality after the incident, saying: “This is the most reprehensible line of questioning.”
Spacey denies 12 charges, which include seven of sexual assault, three of indecent assault, one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.
The trial continues.
