The “House of Cards” star disappeared from the public eye nearly seven years ago after he was accused of assaulting and harassing a number of young men. A variety of allegations from the United States and United Kingdom have been dropped or dismissed, or resulted in the actor’s acquittal, but “Spacey Unmasked” aims to revitalize the controversy with new allegations of inappropriate behavior from 10 men in Britain.
Spacey has denied the new allegations, but some of his peers were so outraged by the documentary that they spoke publicly to the Telegraph to offer their support for the actor.
“I can’t wait to see Kevin back at work,” Sharon Stone told the outlet. “He is a genius. He is so elegant and fun, generous to a fault and knows more about our craft than most of us ever will.”
Liam Neeson also reached out in alliance with Spacey, saying that “Kevin is a good man and a man of character. Personally speaking, our industry needs him and misses him greatly.”
Stephen Fry conceded that Spacey had been “clumsy and inappropriate,” but said that “surely it is wrong to continue to batter a reputation on the strength of assertion and rhetoric rather than evidence and proof?”
“Unless I’m missing something,” Fry said in criticism of the documentary, “I think he has paid the price.”
F. Murray Abraham and Trevor Nunn, who directed Spacey in productions at the Old Vic Theatre in London, where some of the incidents allegedly occurred, also wrote letters of support.
“I vouch for him unequivocally,” Abraham said. “Who are these vultures who attack a man who has publicly accepted his responsibility for certain behaviour, unlike so many others?”
Spacey, who won Oscars for best actor in 2000 for “American Beauty” and supporting actor in 1995 for “The Usual Suspects,” saw his legal troubles start in 2017 when Anthony Rapp accused the actor of molesting him at age 14. He was later cleared of those charges, but subsequent ones have kept him out of Hollywood.
Spacey himself told the Telegraph that all he wanted with regard to the allegations was “for people to ask questions and investigate” rather than rush to judgment. “And I am well aware that that did not happen.”