Kevin Spacey wins "not liable" verdict in Anthony Rapp sexual assault case

[Note: This article contains descriptions of sexual assault.]

Kevin Spacey has been found “not liable” for battery against Star Trek actor Anthony Rapp, according to NBC News. The verdict arrived this afternoon, bringing to a close the civil suit Rapp has levied against Spacey, accusing the actor of him of sexually assaulting him in 1986, when Rapp was just 14.

The jury apparently didn’t need much time to make up its mind; deliberations only went on for 90 minutes before the verdict was returned. Spacey’s lawyers—who used their closing statements to accuse Rapp of fabricating his allegations out of professional jealousy—issued a statement today, saying they were “very grateful to the jury for seeing through these false allegations.” Rapp’s attorneys, meanwhile, noted that, “Anthony told his truth in court. While we respect the jury’s verdict, nothing changes that.”

Rapp was one of the first (but by no means the last) to come forward with allegations against Spacey, claiming that the actor, who he’d struck up an acquaintance with while Rapp was a teenager appearing in his first Broadway show, invited him to a party, and, after the other guests had left, “an apparently drunken Spacey entered the bedroom, lifted him up, placed him on a bed and rested his full weight on top of him.” Spacey has denied the accusations, both in public, and in court, where both men testified. (Spacey had previously issued a tweet saying that he did not remember the encounter, but wrote that, “I owe [Rapp] the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior”; Spacey recanted the statement in court.)

Spacey is also currently facing a court case in the U.K., related to charges stemming from accusations from three men. He was also recently ordered, by an L.A. judge, to pay the producers of his Netflix show House Of Cards $31 million to cover costs the show incurred in removing him from the series after the allegations against him came to light.

Update, 10/20/22 at 6:00 p.m.: Per Variety, Rapp has now issued a statement on social media, writing, “Bringing this lawsuit was always about shining a light, as part of the larger movement to stand up against all forms of sexual violence. I pledge to keep on advocating for efforts to ensure that we can live and work in a world that is free from sexual violence of any kind. I sincerely hope that survivors continue to tell their stories and fight for accountability.”