Kevin Spacey’s lawyer claims he was victim of MeToo movement 'set up' by jealous accuser

Kevin Spacey’s lawyer claimed he was a victim of the MeToo movement and was set up by an accuser jealous of the fame the Hollywood actor went on to enjoy, at the opening of his civil sex abuse trial in New York.

The former House of Cards actor appeared in a Manhattan court on Thursday to face actor Anthony Rapp, who accuses the disgraced Oscar winner of assaulting him at a party in 1986 - allegations that effectively ended Mr Spacey’s career.

“One of the cardinal rules of the so-called MeToo movement (is) that you have to believe the victim. You'll see that Mr Spacey said ‘this didn't happen, I don't remember it’,” said Jennifer Keller, Mr Spacey’s lawyer, in opening arguments. “They told him to apologise. It was cleverly set up by Mr Rapp."

Ms Keller said Mr Rapp made the accusations "for attention, for sympathy and to raise his own profile" as Mr Spacey's career made him a household name while the accuser’s career never blossomed in the same way.

“He's been telling this story to raise his own profile,” Ms Keller said. “He never became the international star Kevin Spacey did. He has been simmering with resentment. It's not easy to defend this, after 30 years.”

One of the first stars to be caught up in the global reckoning over sexual abuse, 63-year-old Mr Spacey smiled at gathered fans as he arrived at the federal courthouse.

A jury of six men and six women was selected earlier in the day in a case presided over by Judge Lewis Kaplan, who heard the civil suit against Prince Andrew earlier this year.

Star Trek: Discovery actor Mr Rapp filed a complaint in September 2020 against Mr Spacey for advances and an alleged sexual assault at they party, when Mr Rapp was 14 and Mr Spacey was in his late 20s.

Mr Rapp, now 50, accused Mr Spacey for the first time, in great detail, in a 2017 interview with BuzzFeed News.

According to a court document, Mr Rapp claims that during the Manhattan party, Mr Spacey lifted him up, and that his hand "grazed" his buttocks while doing so. Mr Rapp claims Mr Spacey then placed him back down on a bed and "briefly placed his own clothed body partially beside and partially across" the 14-year-old's.

During his testimony 35 years after the incident, Mr Rapp agreed there had been "no kissing, no undressing, no reaching under clothes, and no sexualized statements or innuendo," during an incident that had lasted no more than two minutes.

Mr Rapp wants compensation for mental and emotional suffering, medical expenses and loss of work.

Mr Spacey who built his worldwide fame since the 1980s in movies such as "The Usual Suspects" and American Beauty, offered his "sincerest apology" to Mr Rapp for any "deeply inappropriate drunken behavior," saying he did not recall the incident.

“As Mr Spacey's star rose, Mr Rapp grew resentful,” Ms Keller told the jury. "Rent (the musical) was the apex of his career. He peaked in 2000 and grew bitter. So he became an out gay actor. I don't know if he would have been a leading man anyway.

“‘(The allegations made in 2017) was right after the Harvey Weinstein allegations. All sorts of people are worried about being cancelled.”

After a 2020 criminal charge of sexual assault was dismissed by a judge, Mr Rapp filed a civil suit.

If the case is proved, Mr Spacey faces significant damages.

Mr Spacey has pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual assault of three men between March 2005 and April 2013 in the UK, and in 2019 charges against the actor of indecent assault and sexual assault were dropped in Massachusetts.

The actor was fired from the popular Netflix show House of Cards in 2017 amid ongoing accusations of sexually inappropriate behaviour against young men, including a production assistant on the show.

He has been ordered to pay the production company, MRC, $31 million (£28 million).