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Kevin Spacey’s lawyer claimed three of his four accusers were “liars” who fabricated sexual assault allegations against the actor in order to receive a potential payout.
Spacey was an easy mark for men who hopped on a “bandwagon” and fabricated stories in hopes of a payout, attorney Patrick Gibbs said.
“A man who is promiscuous, not publicly out, although everyone in the business knows he’s gay, who wants to be just a normal guy,” Gibbs said in describing his famous client. “It’s a life that makes you an easy target when the internet turns against you, and you’re tried by social media.”
Spacey is on trial after pleading not guilty to charges of sexual assault, indecent assault and causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent. The jury of nine men and three women is due to begin deliberating on Monday in Southwark Crown Court in London.
KEVIN SPACEY GOT AWAY WITH SEXUAL ASSAULTS DUE TO HIS CELEBRITY STATUS: PROSECUTORS
Kevin Spacey arrives at court ahead of his lawyer’s closing arguments. The jury in his sexual assault trial will begin deliberations Monday. (Getty Images)
Throughout the trial, four men testified about similar encounters that involved Spacey allegedly groping them. The prosecutor emphasized during Wednesday’s closing arguments that the men’s accounts were similar not because they had conspired to bring Spacey down, but because groping was reportedly Spacey’s “trademark” move.
The acts alleged between 2001 and 2013 range from unwanted touching to aggressive crotch-grabbing and, in one instance, performing oral sex on an unconscious man. Spacey was the artistic director at the Old Vic Theatre in London during most of that period.
Spacey testified over a span of two days, during which he denied violently groping one of his accusers and instead painted a picture of their “intimate” and “somewhat sexual” relationship for the jury.
Kevin Spacey and his lawyer leave court on July 19. (Getty Images)
ELTON JOHN TESTIFIES IN KEVIN SPACEY’S DEFENSE AT CRIMINAL SEXUAL ASSAULT TRIAL
Kevin Spacey testified for two days in his defense. (Getty Images)
“I never thought that (the man) I knew would… 20 years later stab me in the back,” he said.
Spacey’s description of gentle stroking was in direct contradiction to what the alleged victims testified. They said he caught them by surprise when he aggressively grabbed their privates through their clothing.
Elton John also testified remotely in Spacey’s defense, confirming the “American Beauty” star only attended one of the musician’s annual gala parties in 2001. One of Spacey’s alleged victims claimed the actor assaulted him while the two were driving to John’s White Tie & Tiara Ball in 2004 or 2005.
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Elton John appeared remotely as he testified in Kevin Spacey’s defense. (Getty Images)
Kevin Spacey and Sir Elton John at the White Tie and Tiara Ball on July 5, 2001. John testified it was the only year Spacey attended the event. (John Rogers/Getty Images)
Spacey first faced allegations of sexual misconduct when actor Anthony Rapp came forward in 2017. Rapp accused Spacey of assaulting him at a party in the 1980s. Spacey was found not liable in Rapp’s civil case against him.
Following Rapp’s claim, more men came forward with accusations against Spacey, and he was booted from the Netflix show “House of Cards.”
Spacey returned to the screen with roles in Italian director Franco Nero’s “The Man Who Drew God,” the biopic “Once Upon a Time in Croatia” and the film “Peter Five Eight.”
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
