Why did Kevin Spacey use a statement denying sexual assault as an opportunity to come out? And what does it say about Hollywood’s larger issues around homosexuality, power and the prevalence of sexual “misconduct”?

Words by Shane McNamara.

Though it seems like eons ago now, it was only last month that the New York Times and the New Yorker published allegations by dozens of women who say they were victimised by Hollywood movie industry titan Harvey Weinstein. The allegations range from sexual harassment to sexual assault to rape, and since the publication of the article a further 80 women have come forward with similar claims.

The Weinstein scandal has been the catalyst for the similar allegations against a raft of powerful, high-profile men. The breadth of the problem, variations of which have been long acknowledged in the entertainment ‘biz’ – everyone knows about the casting couch – is extensive and appears to pervade every single aspect of the industry.

Men, women and, even children are open to victimisation in the the multi-billion dollar entertainment industry. In past month, straight men like Terry Crews and James Van Der Beek both said they had been “groped” by powerful figures. Van Der Beek said he was subjected to “sexual conversations” and groping while still teenager working on Dawson’s Creek. Crews revealed that his assault – in which he says a “Hollywood honcho” groped his genitals in front of his wife – occurred last year at a function.

For some context: anyone unfamiliar with actor Terry Crews, an immensely, muscled former NFL player, should google a picture right now. After doing so, ask yourself this: if someone could feel safe groping a man who could rip an iPad in half without breaking a sweat, then what chance does someone more vulnerable have? Crew’s victimiser evidently felt so safe in his position, so cosseted in an environment of power, far from any potential consequence, that the idea of groping a muscular giant seemed like a perfectly acceptable action.

“ As every sound PR person knows, the best way to manage a scandal is to nd something else to distract from it.

AN OPEN SECRET?

In 2015, filmmaker Amy Berg, director of Oscar-nominated documentary Deliver Us From Evil, released An Open Secret. Billed as “the film Hollywood doesn’t want you to see,” the documentary explores and exposes the rampant child abuse that exists in the entertainment industry.

It is a enlightening and disturbing film, one that you are unlikely to have seen since, despite garnering a positive reception from critics, it was given a limited release and was offered no television or video on demand deals. The film provides an in-depth look of the systems in place, which make such abuse easier to conduct. Though it focuses on the abuse of young men within the industry, the same grooming processes and the same threats and inducements – who’s going to believe you over me? Don’t you want a career? Don’t be naïve - this is what it takes to get ahead – are used by predators who target the young and old. The exploitation of those the desperate to crack the movie business is pervasive.

Berg and co decided to release the film for free on Vimeo in the wake of the Weinstein scandal, and it quickly went viral. One of the most disturbing aspects of the film, aside from the upsetting victim testimonies, is that many of the accused offenders are still working in the entertainment industry, around children, today.

One such alleged example is X Men director Bryan Singer. The film details the rumours and even lawsuits that have dogged Singer’s career, but done little or no damage to it at all. In 2014 Singer was accused of assaulting Michael Egan III (who appears in the original cut of An Open Secret) and in a separate lawsuit by an unnamed British man. Both claimed they were assaulted by Singer as teenagers trying to break in to the entertainment industry. It must be stated that Singer has never been convicted, despite allegations about his behaviour stemming back as far as 1997.

Interestingly, after the Spacey allegations, Bryan Singer’s name was trending on Twitter.

DAMAGE LIMITATION

Since last month’s revelations about Weinstein, similar allegations have been made against many other high-profile names, and each has attempted their own damage limitation. It would take too long to list them all, and it would be a depressing read, but here is a sample selection: Louis CK, US comedian beloved of the enlightened everyman was accused of masturbating, unbidden, in several female comics. He admitted everything. George Takei, an ardent LGBT+ campaigner and former Star Trek actor, stands accused of attempting to “disrobe” and grope an actor who was passed out in his apartment back in 1986. Takei denies everything.

ACCUSATIONS AND OUTINGS

On November 10, Ellen Page added her name to the growing list of the victimised when she accused X Men: Last Stand director Brett Ratner of outing her (by way of a crude, sexual remark) while at a work event, when she was 18. In a lengthy Facebook post, Page said Ratner told one of her female co-stars: “You should fuck her [Page] to make her realise she’s gay.” Ratner has also been accused by six women of rape, sexual harassment and assault. He is suing one accuser for libel.

This brings us to Kevin Spacey, and the manner in which he responded to an accuastion levelled at him by actor, Anthony Rapp (currently starring in Star Trek: Discovery). Last month, Rapp told Buzzfeed that as a 14 year-old he attended a party at Spacey’s apartment, after which a visibly drunk Spacey picked him up “like a groom picks up the bride over the threshold” before climbing on top of him and making sexual advances. Rapp said he managed to escape, and only decided to speak out in order to “shine a light” on the subject, citing the bravery of Harvey Weinstein’s accusers as his inspiration.

After Rapp’s Buzzfeed interview, Spacey issued a bizarre statement saying that he was “horrified” by Rapp’s claims, saying he “honestly” didn’t even remember the alleged incident, apologising to Rapp for “what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behaviour”.

After handling Rapp’s accusations, Spacey’s apology pivoted to a what looked like a rather self-serving coming out party. “This story has encouraged me to address other things about my life,” he wrote, before hinting that the some of the “stories” about him have been “fuelled by the fact that I have been so protective of my privacy.”

Spacey seemed to suggest that these allegations have sprung up in a vacuum, because no actual details about his life are available. Whatever the case, he got to the point with the next line, writing: “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. I want to deal with this honestly and openly and that starts with examining my own behaviour.”

“I have loved and had romantic encounters with men throughout my life, and I choose now to live as a gay man.” This line was held up for particular criticism and with good reason since it suggests that being gay is a choice.

But it is the overall effect of Spacey’s statement that is chilling, because it feeds in to one of the most pernicious and antiquated misconceptions that persist about (male) homosexuality – that it is more or less interchangeable with paedophilia. The fact that Spacey used an accusation that he made sexual advances towards a minor as an opportunity to come out as a gay man has been rightly criticised as damaging to the LGBT+ community.

When celebrities ‘come out’, no matter how long they’ve been in the closet or dodged rumours, they are almost universally applauded and eventually welcomed wholeheartedly into Club LGBT+. As every sound PR person knows, the best way to manage a scandal is to find something else to distract from it. Stand accused of inappropriate acts against a minor? Tell everyone you’re gay and the media won’t know which story to lead with.

Unfortunately, for Spacey, Club LGBT+ was less than welcoming. “Coming-out stories should not be used to deflect from allegations of sexual assault,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, echoing statements from LGBT organisations and activists across America. “This is not a coming-out story about Kevin Spacey, but a story of survivorship by Anthony Rapp and all those who bravely speak out against unwanted sexual advances. The media and public should not gloss over that.”

The media and the public didn’t, and since then Spacey has been the subject of many other complaints against him, including one by television journalist, Heather Unruh, who has accused the actor of assaulting her 18 year-old son last summer, and 20 allegations against him from his time as director of the Old Vic theatre in London. Ridley Scott is refilming his upcoming thriller, All The Money In The World, replacing all of Spacey’s scene with Christopher Plummer in the starring role, Netflix dropped his him despite a sixth season of House of Cards being in the works, as did his publicist and talent agency.

Hollywood has long had a reputation for scandal, and nobody believes its denizens to be perfect, but in the wake of the Weinstein revelations, a line has been drawn that should have been drawn long, long ago.

Hopefully, Kevin Spacey won’t be the last man to learn that the system will no longer cover, or be complicit in, enabling inexcusable behaviour.