Kevin Spacey: Anthony Rapp and unnamed person sue actor over alleged sexual misconduct in 1980s

Civil suit has been filed in Manhattan

Kevin Spacey in Nantucket District Court on 7 January 2019 in Nantucket, Massachusetts. (Nicole Harnishfeger-Pool/Getty Images)

Actor Kevin Spacey was sued on Wednesday by actor Anthony Rapp and a second, unnamed person for assault and battery in the 1980s, when both were under the age of 18.

The civil lawsuit was filed in New York State court in Manhattan. Both men are seeking unspecified damages for emotional distress.

In October 2017, Rapp told BuzzFeed that Spacey allegedly made a sexual advance towards him in 1986, when Rapp was 14. 

Spacey at the time said on Twitter that he did not remember the alleged incident, adding: “But if I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behaviour, and I am sorry for the feelings he describes having carried with him all these years.”

The Independent has contacted Spacey’s attorney for comment.

Prosecutors in Massachusetts in 2019 dropped a criminal case in which Spacey was accused of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old man in a bar in 2016.

Spacey had pleaded not guilty to the charges of felony indecent assault and battery. The case was dropped after the alleged victim declined to testify.

In November 2017, after Rapp came forward, an anonymous man told Vulture that Spacey allegedly engaged in a sexual relationship with him in the 1980s, when he was 14. An attorney for Spacey told the publication at the time: “Mr Spacey absolutely denies the allegations."

Reuters contributed to this report