Kevin Spacey will return to acting this year playing a detective investigating a false claim of paedophilia. It will be the actors first role since he was accused of sexual misconduct by at least 20 men – including one allegation that he sexually assaulted actor Anthony Rapp when he was 14 years old.
Spacey has denied all claims of sexual misconduct and no charges have been brought against him. The choice of role is, however, causing a storm on social media.
Spacey will star in the Italian drama called The Man Who Drew God alongside Vanessa Redgrave and is reported to begin filming later this year. Director Franco Nero will also act in the film, playing a blind artist who is wrongly suspected of sexual abuse. Spacey’s role will be short, a cameo as a detective involved in the case.
‘I consider him a great actor and I can’t wait to start the movie,’ Nero told ABC News of Spacey, adding that he is ‘very happy’ the 61-year-old agreed to star in the movie.
His first acting role in four years, Spacey was dropped from Netflix series House of Cards when the allegations first came to light and removed from the 2017 thriller All the Time in the World.
Many have taken issue with his return to acting in any capacity, but particularly in a film about false sexual misconduct allegations.
There’s no doubt that perpetuating the myth that false allegations are common is dangerous. In the UK, false allegations of rape make up 0.62% of all rape cases - men are more likely to be raped themselves than to be falsely accused. Yet, the idea that a victim is lying is commonly used to discredit rape victims and prevent others from coming forward (part of why only 1.6% of rape cases result in a charge in England and Wales – meaning over 98% of rapists never spend a day in jail).
The topic for this movie is controversial then, as is Spacey choosing to star in it when he himself was accused of sexual misconduct. He’s yet to comment himself on the upcoming role, nor are any of the men that accused him – but that hasn’t stopped social media users from sharing their thoughts.
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