One of the highest-profile entertainment biz legal cases ever has been playing out in a London courtroom over the past month, and Deadline has been following every step of the way.
The jury has just retired in the trial of Kevin Spacey, in which the 63-year-old Hollywood star is accused of nine sexual offenses concerning four men. The trial has generated global headlines, set the rumor mill spinning and even featured one of the world’s most famous musicians in the dock (albeit digitally).
Spacey denies all charges and has vehemently reiterated his innocence throughout. He first spent days listening to testimony against him for acts committed between 2001 and 2013 before defending himself for 48 hours, along with several star witnesses, who were called on either as character references or to corroborate timelines.
Related Stories
Breaking News
Kevin Spacey "Tried By Social Media" & "Canceled" Over Untrue Sexual Assault Claims, Concludes Actor's Defense
Breaking News
Prosecutor In Kevin Spacey Trial Concludes By Saying "History Is Littered With Those Who Are Benevolent To Some & Cruel To Others"
As the jury mulls a verdict, one that could spell the end of the two-time Oscar winner’s career and lead to a jail sentence, Deadline provides a chronological play-by-play of the biggest moments from the Southwark court room.
June 28 – Kevin Spacey arrives & jury is sworn in: The American Beauty star arrived at Southwark Crown Court — where he planned to be for every day of the — in a taxi wearing a pink tie and a navy suit, taking a moment to smile, wave and say “Good morning” to people assembled outside court. At the time, it wasn’t known whether he would take the stand in his own defense, with many indications for the first weeks suggesting he wouldn’t. The jury was sworn in, with Mr Justice Wall telling 12 jurors and two back-up jurors that they must avoid media coverage of the case and “not use your computers for anything to do with this trial.”
June 30 – Spacey labeled “sexual bully” as case commences: Prosecuting and defending lawyers spoke for and against Spacey on what was probably the trial’s busiest day. Describing the actor as a “sexual bully,” prosecuting lawyer Christina Agnew laid out four complainaints’ testimony to the jury, including one who accused Spacey of “grabbing [the complainant’s] penis with such force it was painful” and another who said he woke to find Spacey performing a sex act on him. Responding, Spacey’s lawyer Patrick Gibbs said jurors will hear “many damned lies” and “some deliberate exaggerations” during the four-week trial, while applauding his client’s decision to come back to the UK to answer allegations with “what actually happened.”
July 3 – “He grabbed me so hard I nearly came off the road”: After resting for the weekend, jurors were shown footage from a police interview with one of Spacey’s victims in which he said the actor assaulted him more than 10 times, including putting his hand on his penis five or six times. Spacey’s lawyer suggested the alleged victim had become aroused and had questioned his sexuality, to which he replied: “I certainly wasn’t aroused, just upset.”
July 5 – “Like a cobra”: Another complainant during his police interview accused Spacey of grabbing him “like a cobra,” a line that generated plenty of headlines when it was beamed to the press via the courtroom. The complainant said he had initially put his allegations “in a box” because the House of Cards actor was seen as a “golden boy” in entertainment circles and in London theaterland, where Spacey was a kingpin as Artistic Director of the Old Vic.
July 10 – Waking up to a sex act: More alleged victims addressed the courtroom and potentially the most serious allegation — that a man woke to find Spacey performing a sex act on him — was discussed in more depth on July 10. The aspiring actor broke down and labeled Spacey “atrocious, despicable and disgusting” as he walked the jury through waking up with his button and zip down to find Spacey had “just performed [a sex act] on me.” Spacey’s lawyer cross-examined the complainant, positing: “You never said, ‘no’” to Spacey’s advances. The man replied: “You can’t when you are asleep.”
July 12-14 – Spacey takes the stand: Kevin Spacey’s police interview was shown to jurors on July 12 before he took the stand for two days. In the high-profile testimony, Spacey defended himself by claiming he had a “somewhat intimate” relationship with one of the complainants, while saying the sex act accusation “makes no logical sense,” pointing to what he believed was a completely consensual encounter. The following day, he turned up the dial several notches, accusing the person who said he grabbed his crotch “like a cobra” of “making up his entire story from beginning to end.” Branding the case for the prosecution “weak,” he suggested one complainant lied in accusations against him for “money, money and then money.”
July 17 – Star defense witnesses: Spacey’s star defense witnesses arrived in the form of Elton John, David Furnish and Jack Lemmon’s son Chris Lemmon. The Rocketman singer and his husband appeared via videolink from Monaco to say the actor had attended an event he had hosted in the early 2000s and stayed the night, in relation to the case of the accuser who said Spacey grabbed him so hard he “almost came off the road.” Later, Spacey wept as Lemmon, whose father starred opposite him in Glengarry Glen Ross, said Spacey was like family to him, calling him “positive, supportive and respectful.”
July 19-20 – Prosecution & defense rest: “History is littered with those who are benevolent to some and cruel to others,” said prosecuting lawyer Agnew, as she rested her case. Agnew told jurors the case involves an “enormous power imbalance” from a man “who is used to getting his own way,” while attempting to scotch any notion that her clients were motivated by money. The following day, Gibbs concluded for the defense by claiming Spacey had been “tried by social media” and “canceled.” “What the defense suggests is that three people have lied and they have lied in ways and for reasons which, ultimately, will only ever be known to themselves,” Gibbs added.
Must Read Stories
Barbenheimer Fuels Massive $300M+ Weekend; $511M+ Global; Gerwig Sets Record
AOC Hits Picket Lines In NYC: “How Many Private Jets Does David Zaslav Need?”
High-Profile UK Trial Goes To The Jury: Here’s How It Has Played Out So Far
France Proposes New Media Law As Vincent Bolloré’s Influence Grows
Read More About:
Source: Read Full Article