What happened to Kevin Spacey?

Warning: This article contains references to sexual abuse.

Until 2017, Kevin Spacey was one of the most prominent personalities in Hollywood. However, since then once-renowned actor has been living under the harsh light of a sexual harassment controversy that’s all but ended his career.

Spacey made his film debut in 1986 and was quickly on the rise in Hollywood. He has many notable roles, with the biggest one being Frank Underwood in Netflix’s hit drama House of Cards, though the character was cut from the sixth and final season of the show before its release.

But the 64-year-old actor is now attempting to revive his career. Since the controversy has lasted for so many years, it’s easy to get lost in it. Here’s everything we know.

Who is Kevin Spacey?

That’s the easiest question in the mix. The North American actor entered the Hollywood business in the late 1980s after appearing in movies Heartburn, Dad, See No Evil, Hear No Evil, just to name a few. He also starred in minor roles in TV series like The Equalizer. These movie and TV debuts were possible due to his career in the theatre, where Spacey had been turning heads with his killers since the beginning of the decade.

In the following years, Spacey was a star of numerous movies and TV series. He won an Oscar for The Usual Suspects, played the terrifying John Doe in Se7en, took the mantle of Lex Luthor in Superman Returns, and, most notably, was Frank Underwood, the face of House of Cards.

Several acclaimed roles earned Spacey a reputation as one of the greatest actors of our time. However, it was put in the background after numerous cases of sexual harassment started coming to light, beginning in 2017.

Kevin Spacey’s sexual misconduct allegations, explained

The first allegation towards Kevin Spacey was made by actor Anthony Rapp in Oct. 2017. In an interview with Buzzfeed, Rapp claimed Spacey made an unwanted sexual advance towards him in 1986 when Rapp was only 14, and Spacey 26. At that time, both actors were participating in Broadway shows. Spacey was staring in Long Day’s Journey into Night, while Rapp was a part of Precious Sons.

According to Rapp, he was invited to a party in Spacey’s house. When everyone had left the party but Spacey and Rapp, the former was allegedly under the influence of alcohol and laid himself on top of Rapp. Reporting to the latter, Spacey tried to seduce Rapp, who eventually left the party.

“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 also shared the story in an interview with The Advocate in 2001, but Spacey’s name wasn’t included in the article to avoid legal disputes.

Kevin Spacey’s initial response

Following the article’s release Spacey made a highly controversial response. In a two-paragraph social media post on Oct. 30, 2017, the House of Cards claimed he’s “horrified to hear his [Rapp’s] story.” He also said he didn’t remember the encounter, since it happened over 30 years beforehand.

Simultaneously, Spacey revealed himself to be gay. “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,” Spacey wrote. This drew a lot of backlash to the actor, with people claiming he was trying to change the topic to draw attention away from the allegations.

Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, the LGBTQ advocacy group at that time, addressed Spacey’s statement. “Coming out stories should not be used to deflect from allegations of sexual assault,” she wrote in a series of tweets in Oct. 2017.

The aftermath of the allegations

This sparked a series of events around Spacey. On Nov. 2, Deadline reported that Staci Wolfe and Creative Artists Agency stopped cooperating with Spacey, who was then fired from House of Cards on Nov. 3. Netflix announced his character, Frank Underwood, had been completely cut from season six by dying in between seasons.

A Netflix project called Gore, which was meant to be produced by Spacey and have him in one of the roles, was also canceled. Ridley Scott also removed the actor from his crime thriller “All the Money in the World,” and replaced by the late Christopher Plummer as the industrialist J. Paul Getty.

Spacey was also meant to be honored by The International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences with the 2017 International Emmy Founders Award. However, after the sexual assault allegations against him went public, the organization withdrew the decision.

In the aftermath of Rapp’s allegations, several other people came out and revealed they had been assaulted by Spacey in the past. These included Boston anchorwoman Heather Unruh, who alleged Spacey sexually abused her son, Richard Dreyfuss’ son Harry, filmmaker Tony Montana, eight people who had worked with him on the set of House of Cards, and several employees of the Old Vic theater in London, where Spacey served as artistic director.

The Christmas videos

Spacey didn’t comment publicly much about the allegations and the legal processes that took place in the meantime. However, on Dec. 24, 2018, Spacey posted a bizarre YouTube video called “Let Me Be Frank.” In the clip, he acted as if he was the character of Frank Underwood, and while he didn’t directly mention the allegations, many viewers believe he addressed them.

In 2019 and 2020, Spacey posted similar videos, this time around named KTWK (Kill Them With Kindness) and “1-800-XMAS.” In 2023, he released a video “Being Frank With Tucker,” where he discussed Netflix and the 2024 presidential election with right-wing political commentator and writer Tucker Carlson.

The legal battles and trials

Multiple people have filed charges against Spacey, including Heather Unruh, Anthony Rapp alongside an anonymous accuser, a massage therapist, and complainants from the United Kingdom.

In the case of Heather’s Unruh son, key evidence in the form of a mobile phone, which was used to exchange texts between the teenager and his girlfriend about alleged “groping,”, was missing and couldn’t be found. The lawsuit was withdrawn in July 2019.

In Sept. 2018, a lawsuit at the Los Angeles Superior Court stated that Spacey sexually assaulted a masseur in Oct. 2016 in Malibu. However, that person unexpectedly died in July 2019, meaning the case against Spacey was closed.

Anthony Rapp’s lawsuit was supported by an anonymous accuser, though, the latter’s case was dismissed due to the refusal to publicly identify himself. On Oct. 20, 2020, Spacey was found not liable for all charges filed by Rapp, with the latter ordered to pay House of Cards star over $39,000 in damages.

In 2022, Spacey was charged by the U.K.’s Crown Prosecution Service with four allegations of sexual assault. Spacey traveled to the country and pleaded not guilty to the charges. In 2023, the jury found the actor not guilty of the charges.

What is Kevin Spacey doing now?

With the controversy around Kevin Spacey seemingly coming to an end, Spacey was shaping up to return to acting. In March 2024 he tweeted he has “a new picture coming out,” called Peter Five Eight, where he plays an assassin.

A few renowned Hollywood actresses and actors supported Spacey and voiced their hopes regarding his eventual return to the industry. These included Sharon Stone and Liam Neeson. The former told The Telegraph she “can’t wait to see Kevin back at work.” The star of the Taken franchise also supported the accused actor. “Personally speaking, our industry needs him and misses him greatly,” Neeson said.

It remains to be seen whether Spacey will be included in future movies, TV, and theater shows.

If you know someone suffering from sexual violence, contact RAINN or the National Sexual Abuse Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.