Star Trek actor Anthony Rapp became the first to accuse Kevin Spacey of sexual harassment in 2017. Now he is testifying in a trial against the Hollywood star in New York. However, he also gets caught up in contradictions when he is cross-examined.
A sensational trial against two-time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey is currently taking place in New York. Fellow actor Anthony Rapp, known among other things from the science fiction series “Star Trek: Discovery”, accuses the 63-year-old of having sexually molested him in 1986. At that time, Rapp was just 14 years old.
On Thursday last week, Rapp repeated his already known allegations under oath. Now he was being cross-examined harshly by Spacey’s legal team. Inconsistencies and contradictions in his statements should cast doubt on Rapp’s credibility.
According to Rapp, the sexual assault happened at a party at Spacey’s New York apartment. After they met a few days earlier, the Hollywood star invited him to the celebration at her home, the 50-year-old said. Because he was watching TV in a separate bedroom, he didn’t notice when the other guests at the party left, Rapp said.
Spacey’s lawyers told the court that their client was living in a studio apartment at the time. There were no separate rooms in this apartment. When asked if he might be misremembering, Rapp replied, “It’s possible, and I remember a bedroom,” according to the New York Times.
Rapp first met his famous colleague, along with fellow actor John Barrowman, at an after-show party on Broadway. Spacey is said to have invited the two to a nightclub after the party.
Barrowman said under oath at the trial that all three went to Spacey’s apartment together after going to the nightclub. However, Rapp assured the court that he and Barrowman went home the night they first met without any incident.
When asked by Spacey’s attorney if he now had “a problem with [his] story” because of Barrowman’s testimony, Rapp replied, according to Deadline, “I don’t dispute [Barrowman’s] story. I just don’t remember it.”
Spacey’s legal team also pointed out another possible inconsistency in Rapp’s statements in court. The actor previously said a New York Times article inspired him to speak to BuzzFeed about Spacey’s sexual assault in October 2017. In this, colleague Lupita Nyong’o had made public allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein.
Spacey’s attorneys presented in court text messages that Rapp sent to a BuzzFeed reporter with the intention of telling his story. However, the news came before Nyong’o’s New York Times article had even appeared. “It’s just not true that your article inspired you, is it?” Spacey’s attorney Rapp asked rhetorically, according to Variety. He then gave in and explained: “That wasn’t true.”