One man accused Kevin Spacey of sexual advances in 1986 when he was just 14 years old
We recently learned that
Kevin Spacey would be returning to the acting world in the role of a detective investigating false claims of paedophilia. The strange and ironic specificity was not lost on any of us, given
Spacey's own sexual misconduct allegations.
While the claims have never been proven, one of his allegers, Mark Ebenhoch, has now come out in response to this bizarre and uncomfortable casting. His reaction was, first and foremost: "What the hell?"
He isn't alone of course: Anthony Rapp, now 49, was just 14 when an apparent incident of a sexual advance from Spacey took place in 1986. The
Star Trek actor is one of at least 20 men who have accused Spacey of sexual misconduct, with the bulk of them relating to his time as artistic director at the Old Vic Theatre in London between 1995 and 2013.
As for Ebenhoch, he
spoke to TMZ about the news of Spacey's latest role, describing the selection of 61-year-old as "absurd". It isn't hard to see the damaging effect this particular casting could have on the large message Hollywood and society, in general, is looking to send regarding sexual misconduct and taking advantage of men, in particular.
Returning to Rapp, he hasn't spoken publicly about his experience since
he sued Spacey in 2020. Once again, despite seemingly denying allegations, Spacey went on to say he didn't remember the supposed encounter but did apologise for any distress caused.
Spacey has yet to be proved guilty of any of the numerous alleged incidents and, as such, the director of the upcoming
The Man Who Drew God, Franco Nero, does not see any issue with his casting, stating simply that
he believes the accusations to be false.
The Italian film is set to start filming this year but the fact remains that Kevin Spacey's inclusion will no doubt cast a show over the production.
