Last night Buzzfeed published an interview where actor Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of sexually harassing him at a party in 1986 when he was just 14 years old and Spacey was 26.
Rapp chose to come forward now hoping that it would “make a difference” while there’a a national conversation about sexual harassment in the film industry (and every industry).
Spacey Twitted an apology in response to the accusations. We believe there are plenty of issues with this apology, so let’s break them down shall we?
1- Victim-Blaming
Within the first Paragraph Spacey writes: “if I did behave then as [Rapp] describes…” This sentence is already discrediting the accusations, leaving room for interpretation that the victim could be lying.
2- Alcohol and rape culture
Spacey continues his statement by writing: “I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior.” Please don’t use alcohol to excuse or defend your actions. Statements like this contribute to rape-culture by blaming everything else except for the perpetrators actions.
3- Using his sexuality to deflect from allegations of sexual assault
Then, in the second paragraph, Spacey came out as gay.
“This story has encouraged me to address other things about my life,” he wrote. “I have loved and had romantic encounters with men throughout my life, and I choose now to live as a gay man. I want to deal with this honestly and openly and that starts with examining my own behavior.”
Kevin Spacey set gay rights back fifty years by conflating homosexuality with” Rapp’s allegations and by saying that being gay is a ‘choice.’ This shouldn’t be a coming out story for Spacey, but a story of survivorship by Anthony Rapp and all those who bravely speak out against unwanted sexual advances.
Dear Kevin, we fixed your apology for you:
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Catharsis Productions
Catharsis Productions' mission is to change the world by producing innovative, accessible and research-supported programming that challenges oppressive attitudes and shifts behavior.