Kevin Spacey Dodges Allegations of Sexual Advances Toward a Minor By Coming Out

By Bobby Finger  |  October 30, 2017 | 1:20pm
CelebritiesDirt Bag

In response to actor Anthony Rapp’s allegations that Kevin Spacey made “a sexual advance” toward him in 1986 (when Spacey was 26 and Rapp was just 14), Spacey has released a statement telling the world that 1) he “honestly” doesn’t remember, 2) he’s sorry if it actually happened but that he was probably drunk if it did, and 3) he’s gay.

Some media outlets reported this news exactly as I assume Spacey wanted: by focusing on the “I’m a gay man” thing and not the “I am sorry for making a sexual advance toward a 14-year-old boy” thing. Just look at this tweet from Reuters:

But let’s not make the same mistake. Spacey is a gay man, yes, but that’s not the story here, despite Spacey’s apparent desire for it to be. The story is that he was accused on making a sexual advance toward a minor, and that his behavior may have been another of Hollywood’s open secrets. Spacey’s statement is at best an empty gesture that has quickly become the calling card of men who get caught abusing their power. At worst, it’s a horrific and shameful dodge that attempts use sexuality as an excuse for preying on a minor.

This awful response could almost make a cynic like myself who has spent the better part of the 2000s reading celebrity gossip think he never came out publicly because he knew it could eventually be used as a distraction from more damning allegations that he suspected were waiting in the wings.

Almost.

[Twitter]