Kevin Spacey issues video to defend self against abuse accusations
US actor Kevin Spacey has made public a video in which he plays Frank Underwood, his character in his former television series “House of Cards,” and defends his innocence against the dozens of accusations of sexual misconduct and abuse that have been leveled against him by several men.
In the three-minute video, titled “Let me be Frank” - an obvious play on words - Space appears in a kitchen dressed in an apron bearing the image of Santa Claus and washing dishes, sipping from a cup and apparently cutting some kind of food with a knife.
“I know what you want,” Spacey says in the video. “You want me back. Of course, some believed everything and have just been waiting with bated breath to hear me confess it all. They’re just dying to have me declare that everything said is true and that I got what I deserved. Wouldn’t that be easy if it was all so simple?”
The actor, who looks directly at the camera on more than one occasion, says defiantly: “You and I both know it’s never that simple. Not in politics and not in life. But you wouldn’t believe the worst without evidence, would you? You wouldn’t rush to judgments without facts, would you? Did you?”
Spacey published the video on Monday, just after Massachusetts district attorney Michael O’Keefe announced charges against the actor for allegedly abusing an 18-year-old boy, the son of a Boston news anchor, in 2016.
Spacey must appear in a Nantucket district court on Jan. 7, O’Keefe said in a statement.
This will be the first time that Spacey will face criminal charges stemming from one of the accusations of sexual abuse lodged against him. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and be required to register as a sex offender.
The two-time Oscar winner, long considered to be one of the best performers of his generation, was fired from “House of Cards” and saw his career crash and burn as a result of the serious accusations against him, which came to light amid the #MeToo movement, which seeks to shed light on harassment of women and gender inequality.
