Embattled two-time Oscar winner and House of Cards star Kevin Spacey released a statement through his PR reps last night saying that he will “seek evaluation and treatment” in light of sexual abuse allegations levied against him by Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp.
The statement comes as Spacey is dealing with allegations that he made sexual advances on Rapp in 1986, when the younger actor was 14. Spacey soon apologized for the incident, saying he was “horrified” by the story and does not remember the encounter. In that same statement, he also said, “I have loved and had romantic encounters with men throughout my life, and I choose to live as a gay man.”
That did not sit well with a number of groups including gay advocacy organization GLAAD. Mere hours after Spacey’s statement, the group’s president Sarah Kate Ellis tweeted, “Coming out stories should not be used to deflect from allegations of sexual assault.”
Reaction has been swift since the news broke Monday: Netflix first said it was ending D.C. drama House of Cards after the upcoming sixth season, saying it was “deeply troubled” by the allegations, then suspended production on those episodes indefinitely hours later. More hammers fell the following day as Spacey’s masterclass was dropped from an online instructional video hub and a reference to the actor was deleted from this week’s episode of NBC’s This Is Us. On Wednesday morning, even more men came forward with allegations that Spacey abused them as well.
