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Brian Cox, the star of HBO’s hit series Succession, feels that Kevin Spacey should not be “punished endlessly” for the sexual assault allegations that were leveled against him in 2022.
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, released on December 16, the 78-year-old actor said he “met with [Spacey] recently.”
“I think he’s been through it,” the Adaptation star said of the controversial actor, 65, with whom he starred in the 1994 film Iron Will. “He’s had the kicking that some people think he deserved. He’s ready to get back in the saddle again, and people are trying to stop him from doing that.”
Spacey was starring in the critically acclaimed Netflix drama House of Cards when actor Anthony Rapp accused him of sexual assault in 2017. Rapp, now 53, alleged that Spacey “forced himself” on him “by pinning him down on a bed” when Rapp was 14 years old. Spacey denied the Rent star’s claim, as well as several others that came forward against Spaceyafter Rapp’s allegation. In 2022, a jury found Spacey not guilty of sexual battery against Rapp. In 2023, a London jury found the actor not guilty of nine counts of sexual assault between 2004 and 2013. He is also expected to stand trial in London again in 2025 for a lawsuit by another man, who claims that Spacey assaulted him.
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Spacey also, controversially, came out as gay when Rapp accused him of assault. (Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, summed up the controversy at the time by tweeting, “Coming out stories should not be used to deflect from allegations of sexual assault. This isn’t a coming out story about Spacey, but a story of survivorship by Anthony Rapp & those who speak out about unwanted sexual advances. The media and public should not gloss over that.”)
Cox, who had previously said that Spacey exhibited some inappropriate behavior on set, seemed to allude to this in the Hollywood Reporter interview. “Kevin had certain things which he couldn’t or didn’t admit to, and I think it was a strain on him in many ways,” he explained. “And for me, that was Kevin’s only difficulty.” He went on to say that Spacey “got too out of hand,” but that it was time to “move on.”
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“I think he should be given the opportunity to come back to work,” the Manhunter actor declared, adding, “He’s had the kicking that some people think he deserved. He’s ready to get back in the saddle again, and people are trying to stop him from doing that. And I really do go back to, ‘Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.'”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to