Have you heard that Kevin Spacey has come out of the closet? Probably! And do you know that it was essentially in response to a sexual assault allegation? Most likely! Doesn’t make it less disturbing though, now does it?
Let’s back it up: On Sunday night, Buzzfeed published a story where actor Anthony Rapp — he of the original cast of “RENT” on Broadway (Akita, Evita!) — claimed that when he was merely 14, a 26-year-old Spacey made sexual advances towards him.
“He picked me up like a groom picks up the bride over the threshold,” Rapp, now 46, told Buzzfeed. “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.”
A few hours later, at the stroke of midnight, Spacey responded in turn via Twitter, saying he didn’t remember the incident but also? He’s gay. Are you sufficiently distracted now?
— Kevin Spacey (@KevinSpacey) October 30, 2017
“I have a lot of respect and admiration for Anthony Rapp as an actor,” the “House of Cards” actor wrote. “I’m beyond horrified to hear his story. I honestly do not remember the encounter… But if I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior.
“This story has encouraged me to address other things about my life,” he continued. “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 now to live as a gay man. I want to deal with this honestly and openly and that starts with examining my behavior.”
So many things wrong here, man. Gay as a choice, lack of acknowledgement of you know, pedophilic behavior. Conflating homosexuality with casual pedophilia. But also, he’s out!
Anyway, people on Twitter were clearly not having it. Not. Having. It.
Nope to Kevin Spacey’s statement. Nope. There’s no amount of drunk or closeted that excuses or explains away assaulting a 14-year-old child.
— Dan Savage (@fakedansavage) October 30, 2017
Coming out as a gay man is not the same thing as coming out as someone who preyed on a 14-year-old. Conflating those things is disgusting
— Richard Lawson (@rilaws) October 30, 2017
This exposes the gay community to a million tired old criticisms and conspiracies.
— Richard Lawson (@rilaws) October 30, 2017
The distance we’ve had to walk to get away from the notion that we’re all pedophiles is significant.
— Richard Lawson (@rilaws) October 30, 2017
For a famous person to deflect these accusations with a long-in-the-making coming out is so cruel to his supposed new community it stings
— Richard Lawson (@rilaws) October 30, 2017
Kevin Spacey has just invented something that has never existed before: a bad time to come out.
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) October 30, 2017
Kevin Spacey really tried to throw the entire LGBT community under a bus and call it solidarity in an effort to mask his personal failings.
— deray mckesson (@deray) October 30, 2017
Double shame on Kevin Spacey for calling on the old, tired, erroneous, and harmful idea that there’s some link between gayness and sexual predation as a distraction from his wrongs.
— wikipedia brown (@eveewing) October 30, 2017
Anthony Rapp: “Kevin Spacey tried to rape me.”
Media: “Kevin how do you respond?”
Spacey: “uuh…uuhh… Hey everyone I’m gay!” pic.twitter.com/6LAEfsyRtF
— Travon Free (@Travon) October 30, 2017
Bye bye, Spacey goodbye, it’s your turn to cry, that’s why we’ve gotta say goodbye. #ROSEARMY
— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) October 30, 2017
.@GeorgeTakei sent over this statement on Kevin Spacey and Anthony Rapp: pic.twitter.com/vNY2m6NjRq
— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) October 30, 2017
— Zachary Quinto (@ZacharyQuinto) October 30, 2017
Lessons I hope Kevin Spacey has learned: talk to your publicist first; conflating being gay and being a pedophile is really horrible and bad and you’re messing it up for everyone; nobody is buying your toupee, or whatever mangled lacefront you’re using. The more you know, my dude.
