Actor Kevin Spacey has just been charged with four counts of sexual assault in the UK, but as recent years show, this was a long time coming.

Actor Kevin Spacey has been charged with four counts of sexual assault against three men in the UK, reports have emerged. The charges relate to a series of complaints made against Spacey between 2005 and 2013.

Three of the charges relate to separate incidents of sexual abuse, two of which took place in London and one in Gloucestershire. The fourth charge relates to an alleged ‘additional serious sexual offence’ in London, as reported by the BBC.

In a statement issued by the Crown Prosecution Service, Head of CPS Special Crime Division Rosemary Ainslie clarified the additional charge pertains to Spacey “causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.”

While extremely concerning, the news comes as no surprise to the internet. For years, the internet has been vying to have Spacey, and other influential men in Hollywood, held accountable for their actions.

Despite the serious allegations against some of them, their careers – including Spacey’s – have had little to no impact. Shocking, since this is not the first time the actor has been involved in sexual assault charges.

Here is a round-up of some of the controversies around Kevin Spacey.

Sexual assault allegations by actor Anthony Rapp

As #MeToo forced numerous Hollywood figures to reckon with their actions, actor Anthony Rapp came forward and alleged that an inebriated Spacey had made sexual advances towards him at a party in 1986. At the time, Rapp had been 14, while Spacey was aged 26.

Rapp’s allegations sparked an internet debate about Spacey’s alleged predatory behaviour, something many claimed was an open secret in Hollywood.

Shortly after, Spacey issued a statement about Rapp’s claims in which he claimed that he “honestly” did not remember the incident. Said statement was criticised for gaslighting, particularly due to his choice of words.

“If I did behave then as he describes,” Spacey had written, “I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behaviour.”

Coming out controversy

Spacey also came out in the same statement where he apologised to Rapp. While he claimed to have had relations with men and women, he announced that he was choosing “to live as a gay man.”

This sparked intense backlash against the actor. Many claimed that in doing so, Spacey was trying to shift the focus from a serious child sexual abuse encounter to himself. His choice of timing was also blasted by prominent gay celebrities, who claimed that this would spark more prejudiced beliefs regarding homosexuality and child sexual abuse.

More allegations following Anthony Rapp’s

Following Rapp’s claims, fifteen other alleged victims came forward to detail separate accounts of sexual assault and abuse by Spacey. These included almost eight people who worked on House of Cards, Harry Dreyfuss, son of Richard Dreyfuss, filmmaker Tony Montana. Boston-based anchorwoman Heather Unruh also claimed that Spacey had sexually assaulted her son.

In April 2018, the LA District Attorney’s office revealed it was investigating allegations that Spacey had sexually assaulted a man in 1992. In September 2018, a masseur named Spacey in a sexual assault lawsuit, dating back to a 2016 incident.

Also in the same year, Scotland Yard revealed it was investigating three more allegations against Spacey. This made Spacey the subject of six sexual assault investigations in the UK, apart from the cases in the USA.

Christmas videos on YouTube

While the fallout of the allegations was immediate – with Spacey being removed from House of Cards and a ton of other projects – Spacey’s erstwhile apologies were discredited due to his annual Christmas videos, which he posted to his YouTube channel.

In the first video, posted 2018 and titled ‘Let Me Be Frank’, Spacey appeared as his House of Cards character Frank Underwood and appeared to dismiss the allegations against him.

“You wouldn’t rush to judgment without facts, would you?” he said at one point.

This was Spacey’s first significant output following the allegations against him, and it did not do him any favours. The video was termed ‘bizarre’ and ‘stomach-churning’. 

Alleged sexual assault of journalist Heather Unruh’s son 

In December 2018, Spacey was charged with a felony for the alleged sexual assault of journalist Heather Unruh’s son in 2016. At the time, Unruh’s son had been 18.

At the time, Unruh’s son had told the police that he had been texting his girlfriend throughout the incident. In 2019, however, his personal attorney claimed the mobile phone in question had gone missing. Shortly after, Unruh admitted that she had deleted some text messages on her son’s phone before turning it in to the police.

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