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"There's no amount of drunk or closeted that excuses or explains away assaulting a 14-year-old child."
Less than a day passed since Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp courageously shared a story of Kevin Spacey's attempt, at the age of 26, to seduce Rapp when he was only 14-years-old. In response, Spacey not only tried to shift the narrative by coming out as gay, which he claims was a choice, but also literally gave the excuse that he didn't remember climbing on top of Rapp when he was a child but, if it happened, it was because he was drunk.
Related | Kevin Spacey Comes Out After Accusations of Trying to Seduce a 14-Year-Old Actor
Let's just reiterate all of that for the handful of people who've tried to defend Spacey. In defense of his actions, he said "if I did behave then as [Anthony Rapp] describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior." He then also says that, in terms of being gay, "I choose now to live as a gay man."
We're not here for trying to cover up a disgusting attempt to seduce someone who was barely a teenager with a ridiculous "coming out" story-and neither is Hollywood. As we process the story and his cowardly attempt to spin the narrative, everyone from Billy Eichner and Rose McGowan to Dan Savage and GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis have expressed outrage over his response. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, actor George Takei said:
"When power is used in a non-consensual situation, it is a wrong. For Anthony Rapp, he has had to live with the memory of this experience of decades ago. For Kevin Spacey, who claims not to remember the incident, he was the older, dominant one who had his way. Men who improperly harass or assault do not do so because they are gay or straight -- that is a deflection. They do so because they have the power, and they chose to abuse it."
Read Twitter responses from other Hollywood actors below.
\u201cKevin Spacey has just invented something that has never existed before: a bad time to come out.\u201d— billy eichner (@billy eichner) 1509340502
\u201cNo no no no no! You do not get to \u201cchoose\u201d to hide under the rainbow! Kick rocks! https://t.co/xJDGAxDjxz\u201d— Wanda Sykes (@Wanda Sykes) 1509342885
\u201cSEXUAL ASSAULT IS NOT ABOUT SEXUALITY. SEXUAL ASSAULT IS ABOUT POWER. SAY IT WITH ME, PLEASE. #KevinSpacey\u201d— Jordan Gavaris (@Jordan Gavaris) 1509337344
\u201cNope to Kevin Spacey's statement. Nope. There's no amount of drunk or closeted that excuses or explains away assaulting a 14-year-old child.\u201d— Dan Savage (@Dan Savage) 1509339273
\u201cFor Kevin Spacey, declaring, "I'm coming out as a pedophile" probably doesn't have the same ring to it as coming out as gay...\u201d— Paul Sacca (@Paul Sacca) 1509365761
\u201cImagine coming out of the closet when you've been accused of pedophilia. Imagine doing that to the LGBT community.\u201d— Yashar Ali \ud83d\udc18 \u06cc\u0627\u0634\u0627\u0631 (@Yashar Ali \ud83d\udc18 \u06cc\u0627\u0634\u0627\u0631) 1509361716
\u201cThis isn't a coming out story about Spacey, but a story of survivorship by Anthony Rapp & those who speak out about unwanted sexual advances\u201d— Sarah Kate Ellis (@Sarah Kate Ellis) 1509377034
\u201cThe media and public should not gloss over that.\u201d— Sarah Kate Ellis (@Sarah Kate Ellis) 1509377034
\u201chttps://t.co/pg2PLnHpXt\u201d— Zachary Quinto (@Zachary Quinto) 1509381753
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