AP

Kevin Spacey finishes testimony at NY civil sex abuse trial

Oct 18, 2022, 1:32 AM | Updated: 6:58 pm

Actor Kevin Spacey leaves court in a civil lawsuit trial, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022, in New York. (AP ...

Actor Kevin Spacey leaves court in a civil lawsuit trial, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

(AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)


              Actor Kevin Spacey leaves court in a civil lawsuit trial, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
            
              Actor Kevin Spacey leaves court in a civil lawsuit trial, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
            
              Actor Kevin Spacey leaves court in a civil lawsuit trial, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
            
              Actor Kevin Spacey leaves court in a civil lawsuit trial, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
            
              Actor Kevin Spacey, second from right, leaves court, Monday, Oct 17, 2022, in New York. Spacey testified that he never made a sexual pass at the actor Anthony Rapp, who has sued, claiming the Academy Award-winning actor tried to take him to bed when he was 14. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
            
              Actor Kevin Spacey leaves court, Monday, Oct. 17, 2022, in New York. Spacey testified that he never made a sexual pass at the actor Anthony Rapp, who has sued, claiming the Academy Award-winning actor tried to take him to bed when he was 14. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Spacey remained composed Tuesday during cross examination at a civil trial, repeatedly rejecting suggestions that he wasn’t telling the truth when he denied an actor’s claims that he made a sexual advance on him when he was 14 in the 1980s.

His testimony for several hours on cross examination by a lawyer for actor Anthony Rapp, 50, went smoothly enough that Spacey’s lawyer did not ask any questions after the examination was completed by early afternoon. Rapp testified earlier in the trial, now in its third week. He is seeking $40 million in damages.

Addressing Rapp’s lawyer as “sir,” Spacey didn’t seem rattled a day after he emotionally testified that he regretted following the advice of his handlers to be “friendly and cordial” in responding to Rapp’s claims in 2017 that Spacey picked him up and briefly laid on top of him on a bed in his apartment in 1986 when Rapp was 14 and he was 26.

“In my heart, I did not believe this had happened,” Spacey said of his reaction to the claims. He said he was “terrified” and went along with his handlers proposal of a public statement saying he didn’t recall the encounter but if it happened, “I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior.”

“The whole thing was horrifying,” Spacey said.

Rapp’s claims, and those of others, abruptly interrupted what had been a high-flying career for the two-time Academy Award winning actor, who lost his job on the Netflix series “House of Cards” and saw other opportunities dry up. Rapp is a regular on TV’s “Star Trek: Discovery” and was part of the original Broadway cast of “Rent.”

Spacey, 63, admitted entertaining Rapp and Rapp’s friend, John Barrowman, one evening in 1986 after they saw Spacey perform in “Long Day’s Journey into Night.” But he said if he had a romantic interest, it was Barrowman, not Rapp, who was performing at the time in “Precious Sons” on Broadway.

Spacey recalled dancing with the then-19-year-old Barrowman at the Limelight dance club and said he invited Barrowman and Rapp to his apartment afterward to see his dog.

Once there, Barrowman and Spacey “playfully had a moment together” on his bed in a visit to the apartment that lasted about a half hour, the actor said. Barrowman testified in a deposition partially played in court Monday that Rapp was in the restroom when Barrowman and Spacey briefly flirted on the bed.

“It was a flirtatious and playful moment between two people who were attracted to each other,” Spacey said. “I was captivated by John Barrowman.”

On Monday, Spacey testified that he was sure he was never alone with Rapp, and that Rapp’s claim that Spacey made a pass at him after a party at his apartment was not true.

“I knew I wouldn’t have any sexual interest in Anthony Rapp or any child. That I knew,” Spacey said.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

14 hours ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

14 hours ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

15 hours ago

islamic state attack...

Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press

What we know after the Islamic State group claims responsibility for Moscow massacre

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people.

4 days ago

Moscow shooting...

The Associated Press

Russia: 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility

Assailants burst into a concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing over 60 people, injuring more than 100.

6 days ago

Photo: Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge visits 282 (East Ham) Squadron, RAF Air Cadets, Cornwel...

Associated Press

Kate Middleton announces she has cancer, is undergoing chemotherapy

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, says she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer. She has been out of view since Christmas.

6 days ago

Kevin Spacey finishes testimony at NY civil sex abuse trial