Kevin Spacey during a rare public appearance in August. (Getty)
Kevin Spacey has compared his public fall from grace amid sexual assault allegations to the coronavirus pandemic.
Spacey was first accused of abusing Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp when he was 14-years-old back in 2017. In response, he chose to come out as gay publicly. Since then, several other alleged victims have come forward.
In January, a lawsuit against the disgraced House of Cards actor was dismissed, after the death of the plaintiff.
The case had been brought against him by a male massage therapist, who alleged he was forced to touch Spacey’ genitals during a massage, also alleging that the actor attempted to forcibly kiss him.
Now, breaking his silence for the first time since the sexual assault allegations, Spacey has said his “emotional struggles” after being accused are comparable to those of people affected by coronavirus.
He appeared at the virtual Bits & Pretzels “Virtual Founders Breakfast”, part of a three-day business conference, and discussed life after the flurry of allegations.
According to The Mirror, he said: “I don’t think it will come as a surprise for anyone to say that my world completely changed in the fall of 2017.
“My job, many of my relationships, my standing in my own industry were all gone in just a matter of hours.”
Kevin Spacey said he can “relate” to those affected by coronavirus.
Kevin Spacey then went on to address the coronavirus pandemic, and said he understands “what it feels like to suddenly find yourself in a situation you could not possibly have prepared for or anticipated it was coming”.
Spacey continued: “I don’t often like to tell people that I can relate to their situation because I think it undermines the experience that they may be having which is their own unique and very personal experience. But in this instance I feel as though I can relate to what it feels like to have your world suddenly stop.
“And so while we may have found ourselves in similar situations, albeit for very different reasons and circumstances, I still believe that some of the emotional struggles are very much the same.
“I do have empathy for what it feels like to suddenly be told that you can’t go back to work or that you might lose your job and that it’s a situation that you have absolutely no control over.
“When my career came to a grinding, screeching halt, when I was faced with the uncertainty that I might never be hired as an actor again, I had to ask myself a question I’d never asked myself before which is, if I can’t act, who am I?”