Kevin Spacey settles three sexual assault lawsuits
Kevin Spacey has reached an out-of-court settlement in three civil lawsuits brought by men who had previously sued the 66-year-old Oscar winner in the UK, accusing him of sexual assault*.
Civil cases against Spacey were scheduled to be heard in London's High Court this year, but following a settlement, those proceedings have been cancelled, the BBC reports.
The details of the settlements between Spacey and his alleged victims have not been disclosed. Meanwhile, Telegram channels are making fun of this, noting that the actor, who previously filed for bankruptcy due to the scandal, apparently paid off the plaintiffs with his new side job (Spacey previously publicly acknowledged that performing in Cypriot clubs was his only source of income amid his complete financial ruin).
"Spacey could have donated all his savings from his Cyprus benefit concerts to settle sexual assault claims. Now he's cleared of the law; his conscience was irrelevant," wrote, for example, the Telegram channel "Antiglyanets."
In the summer of 2023, Kevin Spacey was acquitted in London of a high-profile criminal case involving sexual assault, indecent assault, and forced sexual activity without consent. Immediately afterward, lawyers predicted that civil lawsuits would follow, where guilt is easier to prove. And so it happened: three men (including actor Ruari Cannon and two others who declined to be identified) filed a lawsuit in the High Court, claiming they were harmed by Spacey's actions during his tenure at London's Old Vic Theatre from 2000 to 2013 (the actor was the venue's artistic director).
One of the victims alleged that Spacey "intentionally assaulted" him approximately 12 times over five years. Another plaintiff claimed to have met Spacey at a masterclass and said he suffered "mental trauma" after Spacey allegedly drugged him and performed sexual acts on him while he was sleeping in 2008. Cannon, the only person to waive his right to anonymity in the English trial, testified that in 2013, he was appearing in a production of Sweet Bird of Youth at the Old Vic and that Spacey allegedly assaulted him at a party after the play's opening. In 2024, Cannon appeared in a Channel 4 documentary called "Spacey Revealed," where he reiterated his allegations.
Similar charges were brought against Spacey in the United States, but only one lawsuit ever went to trial, which a jury ultimately dismissed in 2022.
Actresses Judi Dench and Robin Wright, as well as singer Elton John, publicly defended the actor. He himself has never admitted guilt in sexual assault, repeatedly denying the accusations and insisting that the incidents were consensual* or that they never happened. In November 2017, the actor's representatives announced that he was taking a break to "undergo evaluation and treatment." Spacey checked into The Meadows, an elite clinic in Arizona (the same place Harvey Weinstein was treated). It was reported that he was being treated for "sex addiction."
Despite his legal victories, by the end of 2025, Spacey had declared himself effectively bankrupt. According to him, multimillion-dollar legal debts and fines led to his Baltimore home being auctioned off, leaving him homeless. The Hollywood star's career was also virtually destroyed. Netflix terminated his contract, and his character was written out of the hit series "House of Cards." Furthermore, the studio sued him for disruption of production (but only won $1 million out of $31 million). Ridley Scott decided to completely cut Spacey from his film "All the Money in the World" a month before its premiere; all scenes featuring him were reshot with actor Christopher Plummer.
Although Hollywood still blacklists Spacey, he has begun to slowly but steadily rebuild his career, primarily through European projects and intimate performances. He has already starred in several films and recently appeared at the amfAR gala in Venice.
Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty ImagesChris J Ratcliffe/Getty ImagesNetflix*The "International LGBT Public Movement" has been declared an extremist organization and banned in Russia.