George Takei says Kevin Spacey coming out as gay after he was accused of attempting to sexually assault a minor years ago is “deflection.”
In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter he says the issue was not about sexuality, but abuse of power.
“When power is used in a non-consensual situation, it is a wrong. For Anthony Rapp, he has had to live with the memory of this experience of decades ago. For Kevin Spacey, who claims not to remember the incident, he was the older, dominant one who had his way. Men who improperly harass or assault do not do so because they are gay or straight — that is a deflection. They do so because they have the power, and they chose to abuse it.“
Rapp, who currently stars on Star Trek: Discovery, recently revealed that Spacey allegedly tried to sexually assault him when he was 14 and Spacey was 26.
Last Sunday night Spacey released a statement in which he said he did not remember the incident, saying he may have been drunk at the time. He then announced he was coming out of the closet.
That decision, couched in his apology, enraged people. Activist organization GLAAD on Monday criticized Spacey for his decision to come out amid an accusation of sexual assault.
Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD said,
“his is not a coming-out story about Kevin Spacey, but a story of survivorship by Anthony Rapp and all those who bravely speak out against unwanted sexual advances. The media and public should not gloss over that.“
Spacey has since had his show House of Cards shelved and Netflix has severed ties with the actor. A spokesperson for the network said.
“Netflix will not be involved with any further production of ‘House of Cards’ that includes Kevin Spacey. We will continue to work with [Media Rights Capital] during this hiatus time to evaluate our path forward as it relates to the show.“
Spacey has also been fired by his agent and his manager, been stripped of an upcoming honorary Emmy award and earned the distain of practically all of Hollywood in the matter of a week. In other words, he’s toast.
(Photos, YouTube; via THR)
