Life

Anthony Rapp reveals the abuse he’s received since his Kevin Spacey allegation

By Lewis Corner

4th December 2017

Back in October, Kevin Spacey decided to address decades-long speculation over his sexuality following an allegation that he made “a sexual advance” on a 14-year-old actor back in 1986.

Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp alleged that when he was working on Broadway the same time as Spacey was, he was invited to a party at his apartment.

However, towards the end of the night, Rapp claimed to BuzzFeed that Spacey picked him up, placed him on his bed and climbed on top of him, making a “sexual advance”.

Rapp was 14 at the time, while Spacey was 26 years old.

Spacey has since gone to a rehabilitation clinic as further allegations of sexual misconduct came to light.

It meant that production on Netflix series House of Cards was halted as they reworked scripts to write his character Frank Underwood out of the show.

But some fans decided to blame Rapp for the demise of House of Cards, as well as for some of the backlash Spacey received.

The messages contain a disgusting amount of victim blaming, with people claiming that it was all for attention and that Rapp should have waited until the next season of House of Cards was released before he went public.

Anthony Rapp had a message to fans about the hate he’s received since the BuzzFeed interview.

“I feel that I also need to say a couple of things: 1, I do not believe these trolls and harassers are right. 2, their words do not sting deeply, but they do wound slightly. 3, I have gotten so many more positive messages than negative,” he tweeted.

Following Rapp’s allegation, Spacey swiftly issued a statement saying that he has “a lot of respect and admiration for Anthony Rapp as an actor,” and admitted that he is “horrified to hear this story.”

The actor did not deny the allegation, but said that he does not “remember the encounter”.

However, Spacey then decided to use the statement to say: “I have loved and had romantic encounters with men throughout my life, and I choose now to live as a gay man.”

Many were quick to criticise Spacey for choosing this moment to clarify his sexuality as it perpetuates the gross stereotype that bigots use to claim that gay men are predatory.

Rapp’s allegations inspired many more alleged victims to come forward, including eight former and current crew members on House of Cards.

In one instance, a young man who worked on the series told CNN he was sexually assaulted.

The former production assistant alleges that when he was driving Spacey down to the set one day, the actor forced his hand down the young man’s trousers.

If you have been a victim of sexual assault and would like to seek support, you can call the Sexual Assault Casework & Support helpline on 0800 704 2040, or visit Galop UK”s official website for more information.