Kevin Spacey comes out as gay after being accused of sexual misconduct

Actor Kevin Spacey has said he is “beyond horrified” by allegations that he made sexual advances on a teen boy decades ago. Star Trek: Discovery star Anthony Rapp has accused Spacey of sexual misconduct after an industry party in New York in 1986.

In an interview to BuzzFeed News, Rapp alleged that in 1986, Spacey befriended him when they were both working on Broadway shows and invited him home for a party. At the end of the party, he placed Rapp – who was 14 then - on his bed, and climbed on top of him. Spacey was 26-year-old at the time.

Recounting the incident, 16-year-old Rapp said that he was bored at the party and went to the bedroom to watch TV. After a few hours, he realised that everybody had left. “(Spacey) sort of stood in the doorway, kind of swaying. My impression when he came in the room was that he was drunk.” The actor “picked me up like a groom picks up the bride over the threshold. But I don’t, like, squirm away initially, because I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ And then he lays down on top of me,” Rapp says.

“He was trying to seduce me... I don’t know if I would have used that language. But I was aware that he was trying to get with me sexually.” Rapp was able to leave after some time.

In his apology, Spacey wrote he was “horrified” to read Rapp’s story. He goes on to say that while he doesn’t remember the incident, he offers “sincerest apology” for his “inappropriate drunken behaviour”.

Spacey, a Tony Award winner for “Lost in Yonkers," stars in the Netflix political drama “House of Cards.” He also served for 10 years as artistic director of London’s Old Vic theater company.

He goes on to write, “As those closest to me know, in my life I have had relationships with both men and women. I have loved and had romantic encounters with men throughout my life, and I choose to live as a gay man. I want to deal with it honestly and openly and that starts with examining my own behavior.”

Saying that thinking of the incident “makes his stomach churn”, Rapp said in the report, “And not to simply air a grievance but to try to shine another light on the decades of behavior that have been allowed to continue because many people, including myself, being silent. … I’m feeling really awake to the moment that we’re living in, and I’m hopeful that this can make a difference.”

He later tweeted that he was inspired by women who have recounted details of sexual assault by Harvey Weinstein. “I came forward with my story, standing on the shoulders of the many courageous women and men who have been speaking out to shine a light and hopefully make a difference, as they have done for me.”

Hollywood and some top US companies have been rocked in recent weeks by allegations from scores of women that executives had sexually harassed them.

The New York Times reported this month that Harvey Weinstein, co-founder of The Weinstein Company which has been one of Hollywood's most influential forces since its launch in October 2005, had reached eight previously undisclosed settlements with women who accused him of sexual harassment and unwanted physical contact.

The New Yorker magazine also reported that 13 women had claimed that Weinstein sexually harassed or assaulted them.

Weinstein, who has since been fired from the company as chief executive, has denied having non-consensual sex with anyone.