As a Fellow Victim, Kevin Spacey Understands How Hard It Is to Lose Your Job During the Pandemic

Kevin Spacey, whose perspective we need less now more than ever, seems to be feel that losing your job due to the coronavirus pandemic is analogous to his being cast out of Hollywood in the wake of multiple sexual assault allegations. To my knowledge, he was not joking:

“I don’t often like to tell people that I can relate to their situation because I think it undermines the experience that they may be having, which is their own unique and very personal experience,” he began in a podcast interview, before, incredibly, continuing:

“But in this instance, I feel as though I can relate to what it feels like to have your world suddenly stop. And so while we may have found ourselves in similar situations, albeit for very different reasons and circumstances, I still believe that some of the emotional struggles are very much the same.”

“And so I do have empathy for what it feels like to suddenly be told that you can’t go back to work or that you might lose your job and that it’s a situation that you have absolutely no control over.’

Astounding. Kevin Spacey, a man with a reported net worth of $100 million, was dropped from several roles because he was repeatedly accused of sexual assault, including allegations that he made advances on actor Anthony Rapp when he was just 14 years old.

Meanwhile, more people than ever have filed for unemployment after losing their jobs due to the ravaging of the economy by the pandemic—not, to be clear, because they were accused of sexual assault. Which makes me wonder: Is Kevin Spacey applying for unemployment? Is a single human being denied unemployment because the Kevin Spaceys of the world are out here thinking they’re innocent victims of circumstances outside their control?

At the end of the interview, Spacey encourages listeners to follow his lead and appreciate the silver lining in all of this:

“I was so busy defining myself by what I did or what I was trying to do, that when it all stopped I had no idea what to do next.

“I don’t want to sugarcoat this devastating time that we’re in, I am hoping that I can encourage you to see an opportunity in all of this and turn this into a positive.”