Elton John tells Kevin Spacey’s sex abuse trial he can’t recall meeting man who accused actor of grabbing his crotch
SIR Elton John yesterday told the Kevin Spacey sex abuse trial that he could not recall meeting a man who alleges the A-list actor grabbed his crotch.
The Rocket Man singer said of the man, who claims he once helped clear a crowd for him after a London premiere: “They could have been the Queen and I wouldn’t notice.”
Sir Elton told the hearing it was “always a mad rush” because of the waiting photographers.
He told London’s Southwark crown court: “My eyes are looking at the car door.”
He and husband David Furnish gave evidence via video-link from a lawyer’s office in Monaco.
One of Spacey’s four accusers claims the actor grabbed his privates as he drove him to one of Sir Elton and Mr Furnish’s White Tie and Tiara Ball AIDS fundraisers at their home in Windsor, Berks.
The complainant alleged the incident happened in 2004 or 2005 but Sir Elton said double Oscar-winner Spacey, 63, only ever went to their 2001 gala ball.
Jurors heard how Spacey bought a Mini Cooper at an auction held at the party and stayed the night at Sir Elton’s.
Asked by prosecutor Christine Agnew, KC, if he could recall Spacey being at the do, Sir Elton replied: “Yes, because he arrived in a white tie.
“He was on a flight.
“He came on a private jet and he came straight to the ball.”
Asked to confirm if Spacey had headed straight to the event, Sir Elton said: “I would have assumed so.
“I don’t think he was wearing white tie on a commercial flight.”
Spacey chuckled as she replied: “One never knows, I suppose.”
Sir Elton, who confirmed his full name as Elton Hercules John to the court, said he could not recall if Spacey left the car at his home after winning the bidding for it.
He added: “At the night that he attended the ball, he stayed overnight at our house.”
Asked if Spacey ever visited them again, Sir Elton said: “I can’t remember him coming after that, no.”
Mr Furnish told the court that the couple had held 17 gala balls at their home, with photographers there for OK! magazine.
He said: “All guests who attended the ball would be photographed.
“They (OK!) always had a large feature from 2001 to 2005.
“I can confirm that Kevin Spacey attended the White Tie and Tiara Ball in 2001.
“I particularly remember he was a surprise guest and he was an Oscar-wining star, but he never attended another ball.”
Mr Furnish said he saw Spacey at a different gala evening in 2012, and remembered the driver who has claimed the actor had grabbed him on seven occasions.
He described the man as “very handsome” and “very friendly” and told jurors that Spacey liked to sit in the front passenger seat so he could “control the CD player”.
One alleged victim, meanwhile, said Spacey indecently assaulted him at a theatre fundraiser, claiming the actor was dishevelled and had been drinking, the court heard.
But the event’s producer, Julie-Kate Olivier, daughter of the British acting legend Laurence Olivier, said: “He looked fine I think.
“It would’ve been out of the ordinary and if he smelt of alcohol that would have been a cause of concern.”
Spacey later broke down in tears as character statements were read in court.
One, from a Robert Leonard, said Spacey often helped at a care home for elderly US actors.
He said: “He doesn’t advertise this passion.
“He wouldn’t. He just does it.”
Pal Christina Temple Morris, said Spacey was “generous, fun, sometimes serious, professional and surprising”.
Actor Chris Lemmon, son of the late Some Like It Hot star Jack, wrote: “I have attended many parties with Kevin.
“I have never witnessed any untoward behaviour in my 30 years with him.”
Another friend, Dianne Dreyer, who has known Spacey for 33 years, wrote: “I travelled with Kevin all over the world and marvelled at his patience and politeness.”
Spacey, originally from New Jersey, US, denies three counts of indecent assault and seven of sexual assault.
He also denies a count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, and one of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.
The assaults are said to span between 2001 and 2013.
The trial was adjourned until tomorrow.