Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey is accused of groping a 21-year-old man, as he faces multiple new allegations of inappropriate behaviour, i can reveal.
The claims, which have been rejected by Mr Spacey, 64, are due to be aired in a Channel 4 documentary series.
Former actor Ruari Cannon, who has waived his right to anonymity, claims the double Oscar winner touched him in a highly intimate way in June 2013, when he was 21.
Mr Spacey – the star of House of Cards, American Beauty and The Usual Suspects – was 53 at the time.
Mr Cannon, who is speaking out today in an exclusive interview with i, is one of ten men who have come forward to share their experiences of Mr Spacey over a 40-year period.
The men were mostly either young actors, students, or theatre employees when they encountered Mr Spacey. Their claims span a period from the 1970s to the 2010s, in both the UK and the US, and form part of the series to be shown on Channel 4 next week, Spacey Unmasked.
On Thursday, Mr Spacey posted a statement on X, formerly Twitter, accusing Channel 4 of not giving him enough time to “respond to allegations made against me dating back 48 years”, which he described as “anonymised and non-specific”. He also said that he would “not sit back and be attacked by a dying network’s one-sided ‘documentary’ about me in their desperate attempt for ratings”.
He added: “Each time I have been given the time and a proper forum to defend myself, the allegations have failed under scrutiny and I have been exonerated.” Mr Spacey said he would be making further responses about the docuseries over the weekend. Channel 4 still plans to broadcast the series.
In July last year, Mr Spacey faced trial over nine sexual offence charges, in a case involving four men which was heard at Southwark Crown Court. He vehemently denied their claims, referring to their accusations as “madness” and “absolute bollocks”. The jury acquitted him of all charges.
A jury in a US civil case in 2022 also found in his favour, dismissing claims brought by the actor Anthony Rapp, who was the first man to make allegations against Mr Spacey in 2017.
Spacey Unmasked – which was co-produced by i’s reporter – will be a “forensic look at a man who was once one of the most admired and respected actors in the world”, according to Channel 4. None of the men featured in the documentary was involved in last year’s trial.
It contains in-depth accounts from men who have known or worked with him, from the time he was in high school to the height of his fame. In a trailer released last week, one man said: “I knew I was in a sell-your-soul situation.”
Channel 4’s description adds: “In 2023 Spacey was acquitted of sexual offences against four men in a UK trial. This two-part series will investigate Spacey’s conduct and talks to multiple men unconnected to that case about their experiences with Kevin Spacey, almost all of whom have never spoken before.”
Ruari Cannon first spoke to i’s reporter in October 2017, and although he disclosed his experiences with Mr Spacey then, he felt too worried about the potential impact on his life and career to reveal anything publicly at the time. But now, having left the profession, he wants people to hear his story.
According to Mr Cannon, the alleged incident occurred at The Savoy hotel after press night for the play Sweet Bird of Youth. At the time, he was performing in the Tennessee Williams drama at The Old Vic theatre in south London, where Mr Spacey was artistic director.
Mr Cannon said he had received a gift from Mr Spacey earlier that day – a poster of a 1980s production of the play, signed by Lauren Bacall – and when he approached Mr Spacey at The Savoy to express his gratitude, Mr Spacey touched him inappropriately.
“I put my hand out and I said, ‘Thank you so much for the gift,’ and he pulled me in very close with his right hand and sort of turned me 45 degrees,” said Mr Cannon, alleging: “He put his left hand down by my bum and he stuck his middle finger as far up me as possible. I was wearing a suit, so he took up the recess material and just tried to go up through my boxers up inside me.
“I just totally froze. He pulled me in closer and in my ear he whispered, ‘Don’t worry about it.’ My mind went completely blank. I was totally numb to everything that was going on.”
Before he had a chance to tell his girlfriend and best friend, who were at the venue, Mr Cannon said Mr Spacey approached them to invite them to a party in his suite at the famous hotel, and his guests accepted the invitation. Later that night, while at the party, Mr Cannon said that on two further occasions, Mr Spacey touched his backside, brushing his buttocks with an open hand.
The night of the alleged incident, said Mr Cannon, he told his girlfriend and best friend, and on the way home, his mother. Last week his mother confirmed to i that her son told her about the alleged incident at the time. She added that while he was on the phone to her in the back of a taxi “he was hyperventilating”.
Mr Cannon claims the alleged incidents affected his self-worth, confidence, trust in other people, and his desire to continue acting.
Having performed in a film with Brad Pitt and having won the prestigious Charles Jehlinger award from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts – previous winners of which include Spencer Tracy and Robert Redford – Mr Cannon said he lost his drive to continue pursuing his ambition of a career in acting after that night.
He made a complaint to The Old Vic in 2017 when the theatre created an email address for anyone wishing to convey their concerns in confidence, after the first allegations against Mr Spacey arose.
Four years later, Mr Cannon approached i‘s reporter wanting to speak publicly. He became the first of the men to agree to appear on camera as part the Channel 4 series – which is due to air on Monday and Tuesday next week, and in multiple countries later in the week.
The documentaries were made by the Oscar-nominated production company Roast Beef Productions, and executive-produced by filmmaker Mike Lerner and Dorothy Byrne, the former head of news and current affairs at Channel 4.
In 2020, a civil lawsuit brought against Mr Spacey by MRC, the production company that made House of Cards, found in favour of MRC.
The adjudicator in the case concluded there was “a violation of the harassment policy [on the production]”. Mr Spacey was ordered to pay MRC $31m. The sum has since been reduced to $1m.
He has recently returned to acting with roles in two new films. A third will be released this month.
i provided Mr Spacey with a detailed list of specific allegations contained in this story seven days before publication, and offered the actor further opportunities to respond. He chose not to comment. Mr Spacey’s representatives had previously stated that they would respond by the given deadline.
The Hollywood actor appeared to rubbish the claims being made in the documentary when he released a statement last week, referring to the fact that Warner Bros had bought the series from Channel 4 in an international broadcasting deal.
“I’m honoured to be starring in my first film with Warner Brothers in many years. I hope the Academy takes note of some of the great acting by the lesser-known cast,” he said.
Mr Cannon told i he was “absolutely stunned” by that statement, and “aghast by the unmitigated gall” of it.
Channel 4 said it still intends to broadcast the programme. A spokesperson for the broadcaster said: “Spacey Unmasked will broadcast on 6 and 7 May. Kevin Spacey has been given sufficient opportunity to respond.”
In a statement preceding Mr Spacey’s comment on X, the broadcaster said it had asked the actor to respond to allegations from multiple men. Channel 4 said: “The deadline for that reply has passed and no formal on-the-record statement has been provided. Through his lawyers Spacey has said that he has been publicly exonerated and has been acquitted of every criminal charge against him in the US and the UK. He added he strongly disagrees with the findings against him in the MRC arbitration and denies engaging in any sexual harassment or other wrongful conduct in connection with House of Cards. He acknowledged that he ‘participated in a pervasive on-set culture that was filled with sexual innuendos, jokes, and innocent horseplay but never sexually harassed anyone’.”
Spacey denies new allegations in Dan Wootton interview
Kevin Spacey has hit back at new allegations of sexual misconduct in an interview with former GB News presenter Dan Wootton.
Speaking in the interview published on X, he said: “I’ve got nothing left to hide – you are my jury.”
He went on to deny a list of claims put to him by producers of the Channel 4 documentary in an email asking for his response to the allegations.
Speaking about the approach by production company, Roast Beef Productions, he said: “These accusations date back to 1976, which is 48 years ago, you have to realise that in the (Anthony) Rapp case it took me nearly a year to find evidence to prove that he’d lied about this encounter he claimed he’d had with me.”
The actor’s former foundation for young artists The Kevin Spacey Foundation shut down in 2018 after sexual assault allegations were made against the actor.
Speaking about the foundation, Mr Spacey said: “Were there times when I would flirt with some of the people who were involved in those programmes? Who were in their twenties? Yes.
“Did I ever hook up with another actor? Yes
“Did I make a clumsy pass at someone who wasn’t interested, as it turned out? Yes.
“But I was not employing them, I was not their boss. I was often just swimming in for an hour, here or there, as a well-known actor to lend support.
“That may not have been the best decision… but it wasn’t illegal, and it’s never been alleged to be illegal.”
Addressing the allegations by Ruari Cannon, Spacey said the groping claims were “ridiculous” and “it never happened”.
Addressing the claim he presented Mr Cannon with a particularly valuable gift, Mr Spacey added “there’s nothing unusual about a cast member receiving an opening night gift from myself.”
He added: “I’m honoured that this person felt he was getting an extravagant [gift].”
If you want to contact the reporter who has worked on this story, please email patrick.strudwick@inews.co.uk