Anthony Rapp has opened up about why he went public with his accusation that Kevin Spacey made an unwanted sexual advance toward him when he was 14, in an interview with British gay lifestyle magazine Attitude.
He said he spoke out after seeing the impact that women sharing accounts of harassment were having. “In this moment, with what’s happened, it’s become clear that people can be believed and that it can have an impact,” he said. “The entire apparatus that kept people silent and also kept [those guilty of harassment] safe is being dismantled.”
He added that the issue went beyond the entertainment business. “That’s the big sea change, and I hope that it’s occurring not just in our industry, but everywhere and that people are realizing that these things can have an impact, that people do not have to be able to get away with it.”
The “Star Trek Discovery” thesp originally leveled the accusation against Spacey in a BuzzFeed interview last October, starting a chain of events that saw others come forward with allegations against Spacey, several of which are being investigated by the police. The actor was eventually pulled off “House of Cards” and the show’s production was suspended, and was erased from Ridley Scott’s “All the Money in the World.”
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Rapp said he hopes his actions will help people who are victims of abuses of power to speak up. “There is no such thing as truly being alone, which is what I hope this moment demonstrates, that there is strength in numbers,” he told Attitude.
The actor noted that his partner and family had backed him, as had CBS and producer Aaron Harberts. He also consulted a lawyer before talking to BuzzFeed.
Since going public with the Spacey accusation, he said the reaction has been mostly positive. “I was surprised that it [was] met with a positive or meaningful response,” he added. “I was incredibly moved by the supportive responses from so many people in my life. I’m hopeful that it will continue to have a positive effect in the future.”
He continued: “To be part of a movement that I think will make a real lasting difference is something that’s bigger than any individual, it’s really a time of reckoning that will transform our industry, and I hope other industries.”
Rapp shared the Attitude cover with “Star Trek Discovery” co-star Wilson Cruz and discussed making history as the TV show’s first gay couple and filming the franchise’s first same-sex kiss.
