Kevin Spacey has settled out of court with three men who sued the actor over sexual assault claims.
BBC News reported on Thursday that the upcoming civil trial, due to take place at the High Court in London in October this year, has now been frozen following the settlement.
The claims had come from three separate men, who allege the House of Cards star assaulted them between 2000 and 2013.
The Oscar-winning actor, who from 2004 to 2013 was the artistic director of the Old Vic, has continuously rejected the claims made against him.
One of the men alleged Spacey “deliberately assaulted” him on 12 occasions between 2000 and 2005, while another says he “suffered psychiatric damage and financial loss” after an assault in 2008. This man originally sued Spacey in 2022, but his case was halted when criminal charges were brought against the Hollywood actor. A separate London trial in July 2023 saw the actor acquitted of nine sexual offense charges.
The accuser, Ruari Cannon, waived his right to anonymity and was one of 10 participants in the 2024 Channel 4 doc Spacey Unmasked. Cannon starred in a production of Sweet Bird of Youth at the Old Vic in 2013 and claims Spacey groped him at a party after the play’s press night. Like a “shark,” Spacey then “moved into press mode” for the cameras, Cannon said in the program. (Spacey said the allegation was “ridiculous and it never happened.”)
Spacey wrote on X after the documentary was released: “Each time I have been given the time and a proper forum to defend myself, the allegations have failed under scrutiny and I have been exonerated.” He has previously confessed to “being too handsy” but maintains he has never “groped” anyone.
Spacey’s team did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hollywood Reporter about the settlement on Thursday.
Read the full article here
