Kevin Spacey Says He’s a Changed Man After Sex Crimes Trials: ‘I’ve Listened, I’ve Learned, I’ve Got the Memo’ | Video
Kevin Spacey is a changed man, the actor told Chris Cuomo in an interview released Thursday night. In his first television appearance since he was cleared of all charges in a four-week sexual assault trial, Spacey said, “I’m trying to show that I’ve listened, I’ve learned, I’ve got the memo. I’m not going to behave in any way in the future that is questionable.”
“And that I’ve tried to spend these past seven years going into myself, asking a lot of questions, listening, having conversations with people that I felt I owed amends to,” he continued. “And that at a certain point, I just want to get back to work.”
Spacey also rejected Cuomo’s suggestion that after “too much dirt” comes out, “you just have to go.” Cuomo was accused of sexual misconduct at CNN in 2021, accusations that led to his dismissal from the network.
The actor noted that “we live in a country that embraces and believes in due process and believes in the rule of law and fairness” but offered a nod to the “tremendously important and valuable” #MeToo movement, but added that the pendulum “swung very, very far in the direction of unfairness” for “a whole lot of people.”
“I mean, I know you had your own issues, and I’m glad to see that you’ve been offered a path back,” he said. “But we have to also be careful to make sure that the pendulum now doesn’t swing so far in the other direction.”
Cuomo brought the conversation to the idea of becoming “uncanceled,” and asked Spacey what steps he has taken toward that goal. After he referenced his own legal victories in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, Spacey said that the responsibility is on him.
“I believe that, look, I have to, and I’ve been doing it every single day, I have to work very hard on rebuilding the trust that some may have lost in me,” he explained.
“I have to demonstrate every single day and every single experience and environment that I’m in that I have, in fact, listened, that I am ready to move forward, that I am… I mean, in some ways, my goal has actually changed, Chris. I used to always want to be just the best actor. And now I want to prove that I’m a man of great character.”
“And that involves… the responsibility for that is mine,” he said. “And I look forward to being able to prove to people that I am… the merit of who I am as a human being.”
In a 2017 interview with BuzzFeed, actor Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of attempting to seduce him when he was 14 years old. Rapp said the then-26-year-old Spacey invited him to a party at the older actor’s apartment in 1986, placed him on his bed, climbed on top of him and made a sexual advance before the younger actor was able to “squirm” away.
In light of the accusations, Spacey tweeted at the time that he did not remember the night in question but “if I did behave as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior.”
The case advanced to civil court, where Rapp sought $40 million in damages. A Manhattan jury ruled in favor of Spacey after an hour of deliberation.
Spacey will also face sexual assault charges in London this year after he was found not guilty of all charges brought by four men.
Watch the interview with Kevin Spacey in the video above.
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