How long is long enough to forgive a celebrity for something terrible they’ve allegedly done? How about if they went to court and were found innocent of some assaults, but alleged to have done multiple others? According to Succession actor Brian Cox, when it comes to Kevin Spacey, enough is enough.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the 78-year-old Cox said it’s time to let all that hate toward Spacey go. Sure, he’s accused of assaulting multiple men, but he was also found not guilty for every charge that’s been brought against him in court.
“Let he who is without sin cast the first stone,” Cox said in Spacey’s defense. “I just think Kevin had certain things which he couldn’t or didn’t admit to, and I think it was a strain on him in many ways. And for me, that was Kevin’s only difficulty.”
Cox seems to be referring to the difficulty of Spacey living as a gay man, but spending most of his life in the closet. Spacey came out in 2017, after actor Anthony Rapp said Spacey molested him when he was 14. Cox said that Spacey has “had the kicking that some people think he deserved.”
More than a dozen men have accused Spacey of sexual misconduct. He’s been to court twice over it, coming out victorious each time.
“Maybe he got too out of hand, but I don’t think he should be punished endlessly for it,” Cox said. “There should be a case of forgive and forget. Let’s move on. I think he should be given the opportunity to come back to work.”
Just forgive him already, everyone! What’s the big deal? He’s only accused of using his power to assault other people. Who cares! Cox also previously went to bat for Spacey; in his 2022 book Putting the Rabbit in the Hat, Cox called Spacey a “stupid, stupid man” and that his sexuality was an “open secret.”
He added that “the fact that he could be somewhat predatory” was also well known. Cox thinks the timing of Spacey’s coming out was a “big mistake.” He thinks coming out when you’re “being accused of sexual misconduct” lost him “a lot of support from the gay community.”
When it comes to cancel culture as a whole, Cox thinks it’s a version of “modern day McCarthyism.” If you’re unfamiliar, McCarthyism refers to a time in the 1950s when Senator Joseph McCarthy led a campaign to root out communists in America. It led to fear, accusations, blacklisting, and a series of Congressional hearings, without the proper channels of due process.
Cox has defended a number of popular figures who’ve been so-called “cancelled.” These includes Bill Murray, and Harry Potter author and creator J.K. Rowling.
In fact, Cox claims he’s been in the crosshairs of it himself. When he was rehearsing for the play A Long Day’s Journey Into Night, he said he grew frustrated with himself. “I got very angry at myself. I always get angry at myself when I’m learning my lines,” he said. “So somebody reported me to Equity here in the U.K. for getting angry. I just thought, ‘Who was I angry at?’ I wasn’t angry at anybody in particular. I was only angry at me trying to deal with this f***ing difficult play!”
Published: Dec 18, 2024 01:56 pm