Less than 10 months after Kevin Spacey was found not guilty of sexual assault allegations brought by four men in a U.K. court, a new documentary series is due to air featuring previously unheard of testimonies about the actor’s alleged sexually inappropriate behavior.
The two-part “Spacey Unmasked,” which airs in the U.K. on May 6 and 7 on Channel 4 and will stream on Max in the U.S. having been acquired by ID, features interviews with 10 individuals — none of whom were connected to the trial — all describing their experiences with Spacey. The testimonies span five decades and involve alleged incidents that took place in Los Angeles, New York and London, in cinemas, at parties and on the set of “House of Cards.” Nine of those speaking in the docuseries haven’t shared their stories before.
Spacey has already fired back against the documentary. Variety understands that he was offered a right to reply by Channel 4, but instead on Thursday posted a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, arguing that he wasn’t given enough time to respond.
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“Over the last week, I have repeatedly requested that Channel 4 afford me more than 7 days to respond to allegations made against me dating back 48 years and provide me with sufficient details to investigate these matters,” he wrote. “Channel 4 has refused on the basis that they feel that asking for a response in 7 days to new, anonymized and non-specific allegations is a ‘fair opportunity’ for me to refute any allegations made against me. I will not sit back and be attacked by a dying network’s one-sided ‘documentary’ about me in their desperate attempt for ratings.”
Spacey added: “There’s a proper channel to handle allegations against me and it’s not Channel 4. 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. Tune in this weekend to see my response on http://X.com/kevinspacey. Channel 4 and [doc producers] RoastBeefTV may find themselves ‘speechless’, but I no longer will be.”
Since allegations of inappropriate behavior and sexual assault relating to Spacey first arose in the wake of the #MeToo movement in 2017, several legal cases have been brought against the two-time Oscar winner. In 2022, a jury in New York concluded that he did not molest actor Anthony Rapp, who had accused him of sexual assault in the early 1980s when Rapp was 14. The next year, a U.K. court found Spacey not guilty of nine charges of sexual assault from four complainants. Several other charges and lawsuits have been dropped. Spacey has denied all the allegations.
These are six of the biggest takeaways from “Spacey Unmasked.”
Allegations of Spacey’s inappropriate sexual behavior span five decades and date back to his teenage years
One of the testimonies in “Spacey Unmasked” involves an allegation of inappropriate behavior by Spacey long before he was famous or even a professional actor, dating back to when he was a teenager at Chatsworth High School in Los Angeles, which he graduated from in 1977. In the documentary, an individual identified as Greg claimed that Spacey made a physical advance toward him while they were driving to a drama party after school. “He grabbed my genitals,” he claimed. “It was a very aggressive sexual move.” Greg, who said he was 16 or 17 at the time and that Spacey was the year above him and just about to graduate, alleged that Spacey later “cornered” him at the party and pleaded with him not to talk about the incident.
Spacey allegedly “groped” an actor while on the set of “House of Cards”
Speaking on “Spacey Unmasked,” a young actor identified as Daniel said that he began working on “House of Cards” as a 23-year-old and was excited to not just appear in scenes with Spacey as a member of Frank Underwood’s secret service detail, but later be given a speaking role where he had to whisper in Spacey’s ear. But Daniel alleged that while on set, Spacey “groped” him, putting his finger on his zipper. “His hand touched my penis,” he claimed. “I was inappropriately touched on set at work.”
A “House of Cards” crew member was allegedly moved from the set to be kept away from Spacey
In “Spacey Unmasked,” a women identified as Evelyn said she worked on “House of Cards” between 2013 and 2015, serving as a first team PA on set. She claimed that there were “crew members that were made to feel very uncomfortable” due to Spacey’s behavior, and that there was a “crew member that Kevin was particularly fixed on,” who the actor allegedly tried to “engage with” repeatedly. “That person’s boss actually moved them off set,” she claimed. But she also noted that, with Spacey as an executive producer on the show, “he’s your boss, so if he comes up to you and wants to engage in conversation, you’re obligated to.” She said it was “not clear what you could do” if his behavior was inappropriate and that there was a “hostile work environment for a lot of people.”
“Spacey Unmasked” also detailed the investigation by “House of Cards” producer MRC that, through an Arbitration Court, found that there had been a “pattern of inappropriate behavior spanning the first five seasons” of “House of Cards.” Spacey has previously said that he strongly disagrees with the findings against him in the MRC arbitration and denies engaging in any sexual harassment or other wrongful conduct in connection with “House of Cards.” He acknowledged that he “participated in a pervasive on-set culture that was filled with sexual innuendos, jokes and innocent horseplay, but never sexually harassed anyone.”
Spacey allegedly masturbated in a cinema next to an actor while watching the opening scenes of “Saving Private Ryan”
In one of the most graphic testimonies on “Spacey Unmasked,” a young actor by the name of Scott described how he first met Spacey in 1998 at The Viper Room nightclub in Los Angeles and struck up a friendship. Scott alleged that Spacey phoned him the following morning and suggested they see “Saving Private Ryan” together in the cinema, which they did. During the film’s bloody opening scenes set during the Normandy landing, Scott alleges that he looked across and saw that Spacey was “pleasuring himself,” and that Spacey later “reaches over and grabs my hand and tries to get me to help out.”
Most of those making testimonies about Spacey were all young actors trying to break into the industry at the time of the allegations
Seven of the testimonies given in the doc series come from men who, at the time of the alleged incidents involving Spacey, were young actors at the start of their careers. One of the those speaking, going by the name of Tim, was part of a program for young people aged 18-26 at London’s Old Vic Theater, where Spacey served as artistic director between 2004 and 2015. In a workshop, he alleged that Spacey pushed up against him and that he “thought his penis was up against my leg.” Another by the name of Ruari, who appeared in 2013 summer show at the Old Vic, alleged that at an after party at the Savoy Hotel for the production, Spacey “put his left hand down by my bum and stuck his middle finger as far up me as possible.” In another testimony, a man called Danny, who worked at the Old Vic from 2007-2008, alleged that during the stage show of a family pantomime version of “Cinderella,” Spacey inappropriately touched him in the stalls where he was working. “I felt his whole groin push on my face,” he claimed. “I just felt like a piece of meat,” Danny said, adding that he didn’t speak up because of the “power” that Spacey had. “This was a London theater, with an A-list star. They worshipped him,” he said.
Spacey’s father was allegedly a Holocaust-denying Nazi who sexually assaulted his older brother
In “Spacey Unmasked,” Spacey’s older brother Randall Fowler talked at length about their upbringing and his own relationship with their father, Thomas Fowler, who died in 1992 at age 68. Randall Fowler said his father “had so much hatred” and “blamed the world for his problems.” Fowler claimed that their father “said that the Holocaust never happened” and “had Nazi meetings” in the family house. In 1969, when he was “only 13 or 14 years old,” he alleged that his father raped him and that this sexual abuse would continue until 1971, when he threatened his father by saying that “if you ever lay a hand on Kevin” he would tell their mother. “Kevin found a way to survive in an environment that was not a loving family,” he said. “Acting was his escape.”
