Kevin Spacey’s legal team has a list of some surprising witnesses for the defense, including Anthony Rapp’s brother.
In recent days, jurors at the Manhattan federal court have heard humiliating sexual allegations made against Kevin Spacey by actor Anthony Rapp and his witnesses. Rapp paused several times when he told jurors about an incident in 1986 where Spacey lifted him “like a groom carrying a bride over the threshold” before climbing on top of him. At the time, the Rent star was 14 years old while Spacey was 26 or 27. In the $40 million lawsuit against Spacey, which will last two weeks, the jurors will have to decide whether the House of cards actor is liable for Rapp’s claims of battery and willful infliction of emotional distress.
Spacey’s lawyers have argued that Rapp fabricated the charges against their client out of jealousy. They claim the openly gay Rapp was angry that his decision to come out had limited his career prospects. Rapp argued against that claim in his testimony, saying he never openly blamed homosexuality for a “dry period” in his professional life. He said he had told several people about the Spacey incident during times when he was “working very, very steadily”.
To defend their case, they are expected to summon an array of individuals to the stands, from a former Rent co-starred to several other actors, to Rapp’s own playwright brother, Adam Rapp.
Spacey team produces their own cast of characters
Best known for his role in doctor who and torch woodJohn Barrowman will be crucial in Spacey’s defense against Rapp’s allegations, as he was with the two the night they reportedly first hung out. Barrowman is expected to say he and Spacey were flirting that night, not Rapp. Adam Vary is about to have a controversial time in the stands as the journalist who wrote the 2017 Buzzfeed article in which Rapp first laid out his accusations against Spacey. The actor’s legal team has previously noted that although Vary is a friend of Rapp, he did not reveal their relationship in the article.
Spacey’s manager, Evan Lowenstein, is also expected at the booth. Spacey’s attorneys have revealed in court that Lowenstein has acted as an “investigator” in their case and that it is “essential” in their presentation to the jury. As a surprise move, the defense team is expected to call on Adam Rapp, the 57-year-old playwright, producer and older brother of Anthony Rapp. It is not immediately known what he will be asked to do. Other witnesses expected to be called by the defense include Rapp’s Rent co-star Tracie Thomas and 78-year-old actress Kathe Green, although it’s not clear what she’ll add to Spacey’s case, especially since she hasn’t acted or been part of a production in decades.