Kevin Spacey touched accuser in 'intimate' way but says sexual assault claims 'madness'

Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey has told a jury he touched one of his alleged sexual assault victims in “romantic” and “intimate” ways but that he had "respected" the complainant's wish not to want to go further.

The Hollywood star became fought back tears as he said his world “exploded” when allegations first emerged against him on the internet in 2017.

Spacey is accused of “aggressively” grabbing his first alleged victim’s crotch while driving him to a showbiz party in the early 2000s.

Taking to the witness box on Thursday at Southwark Crown Court, Spacey said the incident "never happened" - adding: "I was not on a suicide mission."

The House of Cards and American Beauty star denied assaulting the complainant in a “violent, aggressive, painful way”.

ITV News Reporter Carolyn Sim was at Southwark Crown Court to hear Kevin Spacey's evidence in his defence against alleged sexual offences against four men

The Hollywood star said he was a “big flirt” and felt “crushed” that the man now accusing the actor of violently groping him would “stab me in the back” so many years later.

Denying the allegations against him, he told the jury: “He was a lads’ lad. He was funny and charming and flirtatious.”

He said he and the alleged victim did not take things further because the man “made it clear that he did not want to go any further and that happens at times and you just respect how far someone wants to go”.

Spacey said: “I can’t remember specific conversations we had but I remember the tone, I remember the atmosphere, I remember the laughter.

“We had a very fun time together.”

The actor accepted touching the man but said: “It did not happen in a violent, aggressive, painful way.

“It was gentle … and it was in my mind romantic.”

Asked by his barrister if there was any reluctance from the alleged victim to his advances, Spacey said: “No. The only thing he made clear is he did not want to go any further than we were going and I respected that.”

Asked how he felt after the alleged victim made allegations against him, Spacey said: “I was crushed.

“I never thought that the (man) I know would (so many) years later stab me in the back.”

Spacey said an aspiring actor’s claims that he drugged him and performed a sex act on him while he was asleep in his flat were false, saying the pair had shared an “intimate moment”.

Asked about his initial reaction the accusations, the American Beauty and House Of Cards star said: “My initial reaction to that was this is somebody who is just shaking me down.”

The defendant, standing trial under his full name Kevin Spacey Fowler, was labelled a “sexual bully” when proceedings began last month.

The 63-year-old denies charges including sexual assault and indecent assault, which are alleged to have been committed between 2001 and 2013.

Spacey pleaded not guilty in January to three counts of indecent assault, three counts of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent.

The two-time Academy Award winner also previously denied four further charges of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.

What have the accusations against Spacey been?

Over the course of the trial each of Spacey’s accusers have given evidence – variously describing him as a “vile sexual predator”, “slippery” and “atrocious, despicable, disgusting”.

Jurors were told of alleged “aggressive” crotch grabs against three men, while a fourth complainant accused Spacey of having drugged him and performing a sex act on him while he was asleep.

Under questioning from Spacey’s lawyer, Patrick Gibbs KC, the men all denied either seeking financial gain, attempting to further their career or giving false accounts to the jury.

On Wednesday, prosecutor Shauna Ritchie said the defendant had told police he was “baffled” and “deeply hurt” by the claims made by one man and did not recognise two others.

The actor said he may have made a “clumsy pass” at his final alleged victim but denied deliberately attacking him.

Spacey pleaded not guilty in January to three counts of indecent assault, three counts of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent.

The two-time Academy Award winner also previously denied four further charges of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.

The trial continues.

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