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Kevin Spacey’s long, wide interview with Piers Morgan lives up to the controversial talk show host’s hype: It’s astounding.
Over 90 minutes, the two-time Oscar winner opens up about her fall from grace amid multiple sexual assault allegations as well as her feelings about defeating those allegations in criminal and civil court cases.
He also remembers flying on Jeffrey Epstein’s jet with the late pedophile, President Bill Clinton, and a group of “young girls”, thanking Elton John and King Charles III for their support, and announcing that he was forced to sell his house because of it. for legal bills that have left people “many millions” of dollars in debt.
Morgan opened the interview with a simple question: “How are you?”
“I’m fine, thank you for asking,” replied the actor, who last year was acquitted of multiple sexual offenses alleged by four men in England between 2001 and 2013.
“It is very interesting and, I think, an important few weeks when I have the opportunity to start being able to talk about things that, well, for me, in some cases I have never talked about before, and take responsibility for the places where I behaved badly , and hopefully provide some facts that the general public may not know,” added Spacey.
Later, Morgan pressed him on exactly what was meant by the catch-all phrase “evil act”. Spacey replied: “Pushing the boundaries. Being very hands-on. Touching people in a sexual way that I don’t know when they don’t want to.
When Morgan pointed out that some people would consider this groping, and criminal behavior, Spacey defended himself saying he doesn’t like the word “groped”.
“I agree that the word ‘grope’ is a very strange word,” he said. “Me personally… I’ve caressed people, I’ve been gentle with people. Yes, that’s how I am. You make a pass at him. You don’t want to be aggressive. You want to be gentle. You want to see if they will respond positively. So I think that word is not a word that I associate with my experience.
As for whether this experience was rejected at the time by the object of affection, Spacey replied that they were: “Then they have to let you know they don’t want to do it, so you can know it’s non-consensual, and stop.”
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Spacey was first accused of wrongdoing in 2017 by actor Anthony Rapp, who claimed Spacey tried to “seduce” him when he was just 14. Rapp’s allegations were later dismissed by a Manhattan court in 2022.
Spacey recalled that at the time of the first accusation against him, Ridley Scott had only shown him the final cut of the John Paul Getty biopic. All the Money in the World. Spacey’s performance was digitally removed before the film was released, and was replaced by Christopher Plummer.
“I think Ridley made an incredible movie, and I’m really sorry he made the decision,” Spacey said. “Chris Plummer is a very good actor. He is my friend. But I hope that in the future we can see the movie version.
After proving in court that Rapp’s accusations were false, Spacey thanked actor John Barrowman for coming forward to defend him.
“(Barrowman) was adamant about the fact that the basis for Anthony’s statement was that he had gone to a party I threw where he escaped into the bedroom, and later I went into the bedroom and swayed in the door, “Remembers Spacey “Well, I’m not the bedroom , no door, no party, and the only time he was in my apartment with John Barrowman was after dinner together, and he wanted to come and see my dog.”
Spacey broke down in tears as he imagined the trial’s impact on him, and he revealed that this week his home in Baltimore was foreclosed and sold at auction because of his enormous legal debt.
Asked if he would go bankrupt, the actor said: “There were times when I thought we would file, but we’ve managed to avoid it, at least so far.” Pressed about the amount of money left, Spacey first replied: “None,” before telling Morgan: “Well, you have legal bills. I still owe a lot of legal bills. He added that the amount owed is: “enough. Many millions.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Spacey also recalled that Elton John and his husband David Furnish were the first to email after the allegations surfaced. Spacey broke down in tears as he said: “It just reminds me that Elton was the first email I sent on October 30, 2017 – after the (Anthony) Rapp story came out – saying, ‘We love you. Whatever you need, we’re here for you.’ ‘”
However, he was more coy about confirming that King Charles had also sent a message of support. He told Morgan that he had not heard “directly” from the king, but later admitted: “I heard the message, yes, and I am very grateful.” At Morgan’s insistence, Spacey insisted that the message was one of “support.”
However, she continued to claim that she was not close to Prince Andrew after questions arose when Spacey was photographed with Jeffrey Epstein’s confidante, Ghislaine Maxwell, sitting on a throne at Buckingham Palace in 2002.
Spacey said he had been invited by former President Bill Clinton on an eight-day humanitarian trip to Africa in 2002.
“This is mainly to raise awareness and prevent AIDS, and especially for mothers with HIV to get the medicine they need to avoid passing it on to their children, so I said yes, really,” said the actor, adding emotion to the memory. meet Nelson Mandela.
He said he knew the jet the group was on belonged to Epstein, and that Epstein had been on the plane along with a group of “young girls”.
Spacey later said he was uncomfortable with the unscrupulous financier, despite claiming not to know who he was. “I don’t want to be around this guy because I think he’s putting the president at risk on his trip to South Africa, because there are these girls,” Spacey said. “We were like, ‘Who is this guy?'”
The group continued to travel to England because Clinton had been invited by former Prime Minister Tony Blair to give a speech at the Labor Party conference in Blackpool.
“So we flew to London, and the president said to me, ‘Before we leave tomorrow, do you want to come? I’m going to Buckingham Palace tomorrow to see Prince Andrew, do you want to come?'” Spacey said. ‘Sure.'”
That’s when Spacey and Maxwell were snapped sitting on the throne. “This Maxwell lady, she’s one of the people sitting next to me in the throne room,” Spacey said. “I don’t have a relationship with him. I don’t have a relationship with (Epstein). I mean he’s not my friend. I’m not someone he trusts. I never spent time with him.”
Spacey hopes that his honest answers to Morgan’s questions, along with his efforts to get rid of Epstein and Maxwell, will help him get back to work in high-profile films and television. Reaction on social media to the interview so far has been mixed, with some finding Spacey’s remorse believable, while others doubting the “master actor’s” sincerity.
Spacey, it seems, still has more to do to clear his name in the court of public opinion. “My goal is not to be the best actor,” Morgan said. “My goal now is to prove that I am a good person, and it is my responsibility every day to show and show.”
