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Kevin Spacey cleared of sexual abuse of Anthony Rapp

Actor Kevin Spacey, centre, leaves court in New York after a hearing earlier this week - Yuki Iwamura /AP
Actor Kevin Spacey, centre, leaves court in New York after a hearing earlier this week - Yuki Iwamura /AP

A New York jury on Thursday sided with Kevin Spacey in a sexual misconduct lawsuit, closing a case which ended the Oscar winner's Hollywood career in the early days of the MeToo movement.

The 63-year-old former House of Cards star was found “not liable” in a civil suit brought by actor Anthony Rapp, who alleged he was assaulted aged 14 by Mr Spacey at a Manhattan party in 1986.

After a three-week federal trial and just an hour and 15 minutes of deliberation, the jury rejected Mr Rapp’s demand for $40 million (£36m) in damages.

Mr Spacey smiled and hugged his lawyer and supporters on the front row of the public gallery.

Actor Kevin Spacey is surrounded by members of the media and fans as he leaves the US District Courthouse - Getty
Actor Kevin Spacey is surrounded by members of the media and fans as he leaves the US District Courthouse - Getty

Mr Rapp claimed the party happened when Mr Spacey, then 26, was acting in a Broadway revival of Long Day's Journey into Night. Mr Rapp, now 50, testified that Mr Spacey climbed on top of him on a bed and pressed his groin into Mr Rapp’s hip until he was able to wriggle free.

Mr Spacey denied the allegation on the stand and said he had never been alone with Mr Rapp, who first made the allegations in 2017 in the months after women began coming forward about director Harvey Weinstein.

During closing arguments on Thursday, Mr Rapp’s lawyer urged jurors to discredit Mr Spacey’s recollection of the events.

“It’s inconsistent. It's not worthy of your belief,” the lawyer, Richard Steigman, said, citing what he claimed were gaps in Mr Spacey's memory and changes in his recollection.

Jennifer Keller, Mr Spacey's lawyer, argued during her closing arguments that Mr Rapp's story was a fabrication. She advanced several theories for why the now 50-year-old might have lied, including a desire for attention or jealousy of Mr Spacey's acting success and that he considered Mr Spcaey a fraud because he did not come out as gay earlier in his career.

Actor Anthony Rapp (R) and his partner Ken Ithiphol arrive to court - AFP
Actor Anthony Rapp (R) and his partner Ken Ithiphol arrive to court - AFP

“Spacey became a megastar while Rapp had smaller roles in small shows after his breakthrough performance in Broadway's Rent,” Ms Keller said. "Mr Rapp is getting more attention in this trial than he has in his entire acting life.”

As he faced cross-examination from Mr Rapp’s lawyer on Tuesday, Mr Spacey batted away each line of interrogation with focused answers.

The jury even laughed at one point when the American Beauty star made a joke about one of the famous 1999 romance’s raunchier scenes when it came up in questioning.

A day earlier he cried on the stand as he talked about his abusive neo-Nazi, white supremacist father - the reason, he says, he did not reveal he was gay until well until his 50s.

Mr Keller urged jurors to ignore the sexual politics of the case.

Kevin Spacey is cross examined by Richard Steigman about his letter of apology to Anthony Rapp - Reuters
Kevin Spacey is cross examined by Richard Steigman about his letter of apology to Anthony Rapp - Reuters

"This isn’t a team sport where you’re either on the MeToo side or the other side," Ms Keller said.

Netflix dropped Mr Spacey from its political drama series House of Cards and Christopher Plummer replaced him in the role of J. Paul Getty in "All the Money in the World" weeks before the movie's scheduled release in 2017.

Other men have since come forward with allegations against Mr Spacey, including members of the set of the popular show House of Cards. He denies all the allegations.

Mr Spacey will next year face four criminal charges of sexual assault in London, where the actor ran the Old Vic theatre for over a decade. He pleaded not guilty in July.