Anthony Rapp Loses $40 Million Lawsuit Against Kevin Spacey

The New York jury has sided with Kevin Spacey in Anthony Rapp's $40 million lawsuit, finding that Spacey did not molest Rapp when he was a teenager and is not liable for battery.

Rapp originally came forward with allegations of sexual assault against Spacey in 2017 during an instance in 1986 at Spacey's apartment in New York City.

Rapp claimed, "He picked me up like a groom picks up the bride over the threshold. But I don't, like, squirm away initially, because I'm like, 'What's going on?' And then he lays down on top of me. He was trying to seduce me. I don't know if I would have used that language. But I was aware that he was trying to get with me sexually."

Variety reports that Spacey's lawyers focused on inconsistencies they had found in Rapp's testimony, emphasizing that Rapp described Spacey as having a separate bedroom, when a floor plan that they produced showed that he lived in a studio apartment with one central room.

When Rapp accused Spacey in 2017, Spacey initally said, "I honestly do not remember the encounter, it would have been over 30 years ago.

"But if I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior, and I am sorry for the feelings he describes having carried with him all these years."

Rapp's sexual misconduct allegations were the first of several that put focus on Spacey in the early days of the #MeToo movement in 2017. Spacey also faces another trial in the UK for sexual assault, which is currently set for June 2023.

Photo Credit: Jennifer Broski