Kevin Spacey is speaking out for the first time since the multiple sexual assault allegations against him in 2017.
After the allegations, he was immediately dropped from the hit series House of Cards. Not only that, but he was replaced by Christopher Plummer in the 2017 feature film All the Money in the World, even though he'd already wrapped filming. His participation was completely cut out and reshoots took place involving the actors playing opposite Plummer. The Netflix film Gore, starring Spacey as Gore Vidal, had also been completed in 2017 but no longer has a release date.
Spacey is now saying that he can relate to people who have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus layoffs.
In an interview with “Bits & Pretzels” podcast, he said: "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. But in this instance, I feel as though I can relate to what it feels like to have your world suddenly stop." He continued, "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."
He believes he knows 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."
He continues to describe his "painful" journey since the allegations. He said: "I don’t think it will come as a surprise for anyone to say that my world completely changed in the fall of 2017. My job, many of my relationships, my standing in my own industry, were all gone in just a matter of hours." In 2017, Spacey was accused by various men, one of whom was a minor at the time of the incident, of sexually harassing, assaulting and groping them. He has, however, denied any criminal behavior.
"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.
"When my career came to a grinding, screeching halt, when I was faced with the uncertainty that I might never be hired as an actor again, I had to ask myself a question I’d never asked myself before which is, ‘If I can’t act, who am I?'
"It’s at these kinds of moments that the most important thing to remember is that we have our health. Our physical health but also our mental health. The health of our family, of our children, our parents if we’re still lucky enough to have them with us."
What do you think of his view of his situation? Comment below. ~Marriska Fernandes
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