An alleged victim of the actor Kevin Spacey has accused him in court of being “insensitive” after claiming his decision to come out as gay was used to “disguise” his behaviour.
The actor was “hiding in plain sight” as he allegedly directed a “machine gun” of vile sexual comments at the man in a London theatre and grabbed him in an intimate area, a court heard.
The man told Southwark crown court he felt “belittled” and “worthless” after the incident in the mid-2000s and that the alleged assault felt as if it lasted an “eternity”.
The witness said he felt “incredulous that [Spacey] could be so insensitive” after claiming the actor’s decision to come out as gay was “somebody not taking ownership”.
Jurors previously heard how Spacey “smelled of booze” before he grabbed the man “like a cobra” in the theatre.
Under cross-examination from Spacey’s lawyer, Patrick Gibbs KC, the complainant described the alleged incident as “horrific” and said it made him feel “subhuman”.
As the man took to the witness box on Thursday, Gibbs said: “I’m going to suggest there are quite a number of things that you told police that are completely untrue. Can I begin with your suggestion that Mr Spacey turned up smelling of booze?”
The alleged victim replied: “That was my impression and that’s what I smelled.”
Gibbs continued: “Mr Spacey, you told the police, looked like he had been up all night.”
The witness said: “That was my opinion, he looked dishevelled and smelled of alcohol.”
After Gibbs suggested that was “completely untrue”, the complainant replied: “You can suggest it but, with the greatest respect, you weren’t there.”
Spacey’s lawyer then said: “He was relaxed and friendly – to everyone he met.”
The alleged victim responded: “No. He may have been relaxed and friendly with people with status, he certainly wasn’t relaxed and friendly to me. All I can say is, his initial introduction we had, I found him to be standoffish and rude.”
Gibbs continued: “I’m not going to repeat all the words but you describe a relentless barrage of vile language coming from him to you. Do you stand by that?”
The witness answered: “Yes, 100%.”
Asked how it was possible nobody saw the “15 to 20 minutes” of alleged comments, the man said: “I think it’s the phrase ‘hiding in plain sight’. It was like a machine gun, a torrent, and that’s all I can say – it went on and on and on. I have never had people speak to me that way and I felt so degraded.”
Spacey, 63, has been described by the prosecution as a “sexual bully” as he stands trial accused of sex offences against four men between 2001 and 2013.
The defendant pleaded not guilty in January to three counts of indecent assault, three counts of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent.
The two-time Academy Award winner previously denied four other charges of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.
The trial continues.
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