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Kevin Spacey: Actor charged with sexual assault in Massachusetts | Kevin Spacey: Actor charged with sexual assault in Massachusetts |
(about 1 hour later) | |
US actor Kevin Spacey has been charged with sexually assaulting a teenager at a bar in Massachusetts. | US actor Kevin Spacey has been charged with sexually assaulting a teenager at a bar in Massachusetts. |
He will appear in court on 7 January over the incident, which allegedly occurred in Nantucket in July 2016. | He will appear in court on 7 January over the incident, which allegedly occurred in Nantucket in July 2016. |
On Monday, Mr Spacey posted a video in which he appears to deny any wrongdoing while in character as Frank Underwood from House of Cards. | On Monday, Mr Spacey posted a video in which he appears to deny any wrongdoing while in character as Frank Underwood from House of Cards. |
"I'm certainly not going to pay the price for the things I didn't do," he says in the clip. | "I'm certainly not going to pay the price for the things I didn't do," he says in the clip. |
"You wouldn't believe the worst without evidence, would you?" he asks. "You wouldn't rush to judgements without facts." | "You wouldn't believe the worst without evidence, would you?" he asks. "You wouldn't rush to judgements without facts." |
The alleged victim is the son of former television news presenter Heather Unruh, who spoke publicly about the incident last year. | |
She accused Mr Spacey of buying her then 18-year-old son alcohol - the drinking age in Massachusetts is 21 - and then groping him. | |
In the video, Mr Spacey speaks in Frank Underwood's accent and addresses the viewer directly, much like he did throughout his five seasons on House of Cards. | |
"Of course some believed everything," he says. "They're just waiting with bated breath to hear me confess it all." | |
"They're going to say I'm being disrespectful, not playing by the rules," he adds. "Like I ever played by anyone's rules before. I never did. And you loved it." | |
Frank Underwood was the power-hungry and conniving protagonist of the Netflix series, and murdered a journalist and a politician before he was killed off ahead of season six. | |
The three-minute clip, which is titled Let Me Be Frank, marks Mr Spacey's first public appearance since the first allegation of sexual assault was made against him last November. | |
He was accused by actor Anthony Rapp of making a sexual advance in 1986 and a number of other allegations have since emerged. | He was accused by actor Anthony Rapp of making a sexual advance in 1986 and a number of other allegations have since emerged. |
Mr Spacey said he had no memory of the event but publicly apologised before issuing an "absolute" denial of the other allegations. | |
Separately, in September, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office said Mr Spacey would not be prosecuted over an accusation of sexual assault that allegedly took place in 1992. | |
It said it fell outside of California's statute of limitations. | |
UK police are also investigating several allegations that centre around his time serving as artistic director at London's Old Vic theatre. | |
The controversy has led to Mr Spacey being axed from a number of roles, including from House of Cards and the 2017 film All the Money in the World, which was re-shot without him. | |
A film in which he appears, Billionaire Boys Club, also took a record-breaking low of $126 (£98) on its first night in US cinemas in August. | A film in which he appears, Billionaire Boys Club, also took a record-breaking low of $126 (£98) on its first night in US cinemas in August. |
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