In brief
The Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey has settled civil claims brought against him by three men accusing him of sexual assault. The lawsuits were scheduled to go to trial later this year but will now not proceed following the settlement. Spacey has consistently denied the allegations, which span incidents occurring between 2000 and 2013.
Kevin Spacey has agreed to an out-of-court settlement with three men who had sued the actor after accusing him of sexual assault.
The civil cases were set to go to trial at the High Court later this year, but those proceedings will now not take place due to the settlement.
The accusers alleged that Spacey assaulted them between 2000 and 2013. The actor, now 66, denies all wrongdoing. In 2023, he was acquitted of nine sexual offence charges in a separate criminal trial.
Two of the men who had accused Spacey during the criminal trial also filed civil legal cases at the High Court. One individual, known as LNP, alleged that Spacey deliberately assaulted him on about 12 occasions between 2000 and 2005. Another, referred to as GHI, claims to have suffered psychiatric damage and financial loss from an alleged assault in 2008, which occurred after he met Spacey through a workshop at London's Old Vic theatre, where Spacey was artistic director from 2004 to 2013.
The third plaintiff, Ruari Cannon, waived his right to anonymity and alleged that Spacey groped him at a party following a performance of Tennessee Williams’ play Sweet Bird of Youth in 2013.
Spacey stated that Cannon's allegation is ridiculous and it never happened. During an earlier hearing, lawyers for the claimants revealed that seven additional witnesses alleging similar abusive behavior could support the case, although details of the settlements reached with Spacey and his accusers remain undisclosed.
