Kevin Spacey went to a party with then 14-year-old Anthony Rapp to “satisfy his sexual desires” in 1986, an encounter that shook the “Rent” and “Star Trek” actor and left him with emotional distress. suffered. On this day, his lawyers argued Thursday, the first day of a civil trial in New York federal court.
A jury of six men and six women sat before noon, and preliminary arguments began in anticipation of a two-week trial behind closed doors, as no cameras are allowed in New York federal courts.
Rapp’s attorney Peter Sagir told jurors on Thursday that Spacey invited the teen to a party in his Manhattan apartment in 1986, when Rapp was an ascendant child actor appearing in a play, and Spacey, 26, was also out on Broadway. was leaving. When the guests left, a “drunk, waving” Spacey twisted the wrap like a groom “carrying a bride over a threshold” and laid her on the bed, pinning her under Spacey’s full weight, the lawyer. said, according to The Associated Press.
Rapp would later testify that he was able to walk away and run to the bathroom, then met Spacey again through the door, who asked “Are you sure you want to leave?” Sagir said.
“It was a deliberate act,” the lawyer said. “It’s not horseplay.”
Both the actors appeared in the court on Thursday. AP informed of. The rap was seen during a break before the argument started and started crying and patting his eyes. Spacey, meanwhile, relaxed, “laughed at the judge’s jokes, smiled at potential jurors and sometimes whispers with his lawyers.”
Spacey’s attorney, Jennifer Keller, said Rapp’s civil lawsuit, which was filed two years ago, seeks to “get attention, empathy and raise his own profile.” CNN told,
,[Rapp] Kevin Spacey never became an international star,” Keller told the jurors. “He’s been boiling and boiling with indignation this whole time.”
Rapp first revealed his allegations against Spacey at the start of the #metoo movement in 2017. Spacey at first said he did not remember the encounter, but later said it never happened.
Keller told jurors on Thursday that Rapp was a “troubled young man” who made up a story — and may have been based on “Precious Sons,” the play he was appearing in at the time. A character, played by Ed Harris, mistakes his son, played by Rapp, for his drunken wife – and lays down on her.
According to CNN, Keller said, “We are very confident that once you hear both sides, you will be convinced that this alleged attack never happened.”
Steighir said that the incident caused Rapp permanent psychological damage: “Every time he hears Kevin Spacey’s name, he goes back to that apartment in 1986,” he said.
Rapp, who appeared in the original cast for the Broadway smash “Rent,” is currently starring in “Star Trek: Discovery” for Paramount+. He is seeking compensation for emotional pain, medical expenses and lost work.