Kevin Spacey charged with sexual assault, offers unusual video response

Actor Kevin Spacey is facing a felony sexual assault charge in Massachusetts. He will be arraigned early next month. From the Hollywood Reporter:

The alleged assault on a male victim took place at a Nantucket bar in July 2016.

Last year, former Boston TV news anchor Heather Unruh held a press conference to share her son’s allegation of sexual assault against Spacey. Her then 18-year-old son she said was sexually assaulted by Spacey inside the Club Car Restaurant on Nantucket. Unruh says her son, who was not of legal drinking age, told Spacey he was and that the actor “bought him drink after drink after drink.”

“My son was a starstruck, straight 18-year-old young man who had no idea that the famous actor was an alleged sexual predator or that he was about to become his next victim,” she said at the time. “When my son was drunk, Spacey made his move and sexually assaulted him.”

An earlier report by THR included Heather Unruh’s description of the alleged assault:

“Spacey stuck his hand inside my son’s pants and grabbed his genitals,” she said through tears. “My son’s efforts to shift his body to remove Spacey’s hand were only momentarily successful. My son panicked, he froze. He was intoxicated.”

In response to the announcement of the pending charges, Spacey released a deeply strange video clip in which he delivers a monologue as his former character from House of Cards, the TV show that fired Spacey last year. “Of course, some believed everything and have been just waiting with baited breath to hear me confess it all,” Spacey says. He continues, “They’re just dying to have me declare that everything said is true and that I got what I deserved. Only you and I both know it’s never that simple, not in politics and not in life.”

I never watched House of Cards so I’m probably not getting the full impact of this. Reading between the lines, it sounds as if Spacey is saying he’s innocent and expects to be fully vindicated. But doing that in character seems to make light of the whole thing in a way that may not help his case before a jury or with a judge. His stunt makes him look like a kook. Is he hoping that there will be a die-hard fan on the jury who is so struck he’ll refuse to convict? I genuinely don’t see the upside to this, especially if he’s innocent. It makes me wonder if Spacey needs help that he’s not getting right now. And yet, he didn’t film this on his own. Someone is working the cameras and editing this together. Who are the people who thought this would help Spacey’s case?