The Only Recap Of Kevin Spacey's Downfall You Need

This article contains references to sexual assault and suicide.

A 1997 Esquire article may have been titled "Kevin Spacey Has a Secret," but it would take 20 years for Spacey's actual untold truth to come out, leading to one of the most public downfalls of the #MeToo era. There were often whispers in the wings of theaters Spacey performed at, knowing glances exchanged amid applause at award ceremonies, but the rumors remained just that until the patriarchal floodgates of Hollywood exploded in 2017. Before then, though, Spacey seemed untouchable, having won Oscars for 1995's "The Usual Suspects" and 1999's "American Beauty," a Tony for 1991's "Lost in Yonkers," and a Golden Globe for 2015's "House of Cards," a Netflix series which earned him 10 of 12 Primetime Emmy nominations. He even received an honorary knighthood.

However, every ounce of Spacey's acclaim and credibility seemingly vanished overnight when he was accused of sexual misconduct mere weeks after allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein turned Hollywood topsy-turvy. Spacey would spend the next eight years in and out of tabloids and courtrooms instead of Hollywood film sets, with more and more allegations coming to light practically every month. The actor's evolution throughout this downfall has been fascinating to behold, transforming from contrite and ashamed to defiant, sarcastic, and bitter. It was an attitude change that reflected the oscillations in culture, going from #MeToo and #Resistance to the second Donald Trump administration and the end of so-called "wokeness." In retrospect, Spacey's downfall was not your typical downfall.

As is the case with many celebrities, Kevin Spacey's predatory behavior actually seemed to be an open secret years before the dam broke in October 2017. Of course, the mainstream public only learned about this history of predation after he was already accused and discredited, and most of the Hollywood elite were only brave enough to say anything after the fact.

For instance, actor Denzel Washington wrote that there were rumors about Spacey in a November 2024 piece for Esquire, recounting the 2000 Oscars when he lost Best Actor to Spacey. Washington wrote, "There was talk in the town about what was going on over there on that side of the street, and that's between him and God. I ain't got nothing to do with that. I pray for him." Similarly, Rosie O'Donnell took to X (formerly Twitter) on October 30, 2017, in response to Spacey's apology by writing, "u don't remember the incident — 30 years ago? — f*** u kevin – like Harvey we all knew about u — I hope more men come forward."

It later emerged that there was apparently a whisper network on the set of Spacey films through which people would warn each other about him, as discussed in the documentary "Spacey Unmasked." One accuser named Jesse recalled a rule on the set of the 1999 film "The Big Kahuna," saying (via The Hollywood Reporter), "Everybody knows, if you don't want to go home with Kevin, don't be the last guy in the bar with him."

There was a culture of silence in Hollywood that seemed to crack when Harvey Weinstein was accused of harassment, assault, or rape by dozens of women in October 2017, leading to the so-called "Weinstein effect" and #MeToo. Suddenly, a torrent of accusations was levied against powerful men, with more than 200 of them being fired or "canceled" in the subsequent year.

Kevin Spacey was first publicly accused on October 29, 2017. The accusation came from actor Anthony Rapp in a BuzzFeed article alleging that Spacey made a "sexual advance" toward him in 1986, pinning him to a bed when he was 14 years old. Rapp had actually discussed the incident with The Advocate in 2001, but Spacey's name was redacted from the published piece, indicating how different the culture had become.

Spacey posted an infamous "apology" the day after the accusation, writing on X, "I'm beyond horrified to hear his story. I honestly do not remember the encounter ... If I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior." He also used the occasion to officially come out as gay, something widely condemned by the LGBTQ+ community. "Coming out stories should not be used to deflect from allegations of sexual assault," GLAAD president Sarah Kate Ellis wrote on X.

There were swift ramifications throughout the entertainment industry to Anthony Rapp's accusation and Kevin Spacey's response to it. His publicist released a statement on November 1, 2017, stating (via Deadline), "Kevin Spacey is taking the time necessary to seek evaluation and treatment. No other information is available at this time." That very publicist, Staci Wolfe of Polaris, would then drop Spacey as a client the very next day, as did his talent agency, CAA (Creative Artists Agency). This was likely in response to newly reported accusations of the actor's lurid behavior and sexual harassment.

On November 2, CNN reported on eight Netflix employees who worked on Spacey's series there, "House of Cards." They alleged that he created a toxic work environment that "included nonconsensual touching and crude comments and targeted production staffers who were typically young and male." The next day, Netflix declared that it would be severing all ties with Spacey, which included removing him from "House of Cards" (his character was killed off) and shelving a film he had already completed (the Gore Vidal biopic, "Gore"). Eventually, a court would order Spacey to pay the makers of "House of Cards" a huge amount of money, $31 million, to make up for the losses they suffered from his firing.

Later in November 2017, it was reported that director Ridley Scott would completely reshoot portions of his 2017 film, "All the Money in the World," effectively removing Spacey from the film and replacing him with actor Christopher Plummer. Spacey was literally being erased from Hollywood.

After the eight "House of Cards" employees accused Kevin Spacey of wrongdoing, a bevy of new allegations would further sink the actor's career. On November 8, 2017, Heather Unruh, a former Boston news anchor, accused Spacey of assaulting her son when he was 18. The event allegedly involved Spacey pushing alcohol onto the teenager before groping his genitals in July 2016. The Nantucket Police Department began a criminal investigation, leading to a felony charge against Spacey, whose legal issues were just beginning.

On November 16, 2017, the Old Vic, a historic London theatre, completed an internal investigation of Spacey's time as artistic director there between 2004 and 2015. The report revealed that 20 individual allegations were made against Spacey, according to the BBC, "from making people feel uncomfortable to sexually inappropriate behaviour." The BBC added, "Three people told the Old Vic they had contacted the police, while 14 of the 20 complainants were told by the investigators that they should consider going to the police."

Spacey broke his silence at the end of 2017 with a bizarre and, at least to the alleged victims, insulting holiday video message in which he appeared in character as Frank Underwood from "House of Cards." In the video, titled "Let Me Be Frank," Spacey declared, "Despite all the poppycock, the animosity, the headlines, the impeachment without a trial ... Despite even my own death, I feel surprisingly good, and my confidence grows each day that soon enough you will know the full truth."

When all was said and done, more than 50 sexual misconduct allegations surfaced against Kevin Spacey, and he denied them all with varying degrees of vehemence. Many of them eventually went through long judicial processes, such as the first felony charge against Spacey, which stemmed from Heather Unruh's accusation on November 8, 2017, that he had groped her son. The actual criminal complaint from the Nantucket District Court didn't arrive until more than a year later, on December 24, 2018. Spacey pleaded not guilty at the arraignment on January 7, 2019, the first of several such pleas.

Unruh's son then brought a civil lawsuit against Spacey on June 27, 2019, focusing on the same groping incident in Nantucket. The case was voluntarily dropped by the accuser on July 5; no reason was given, and it's unclear if a secret settlement was reached behind the scenes. This was Spacey's first stroke of luck in a string of similarly strange, suspiciously felicitous occurrences, with the besmirched actor somehow beating the odds.

For instance, on July 17, 2019, the same accuser also dropped their criminal case against Spacey in Nantucket after pleading the fifth during the trial. Neither he nor his mother provided an official reason for ending their legal pursuit. At least they seem to have survived the ordeal, unlike some of Spacey's other accusers.

Long before allegations emerged that Kevin Spacey had committed any crimes, one person was speaking out against the actor and committing crimes of their own in the process. That woman, a nurse named Linda Louise Culkin, had reportedly begun stalking Spacey in 2009 after one of her patients claimed Spacey had attacked him when he was an underage boy.

Culkin became obsessed with Spacey and was actually one of the first people to make public allegations against him, though they went ignored; Variety later referred to her as a "whistleblower." On November 8, 2011, she wrote on X, "Scandal of acting world will be Kevin 'sandusty' Spacey — join ranks of Jeff Epstein."

In 2012, Culkin was sentenced to more than four years in prison for sending Spacey threatening messages. Spacey himself petitioned the court for increased incarceration, stating (via The Boston Herald), "The only way I am going to achieve a true state of safety is for the defendant to remain in custody and undertake intense psychiatric treatment." Culkin was eventually released after 51 months, living to see Spacey's downfall. However, she was hit and killed by a car in February 2019. Her cousin told RadarOnline at the time, "Linda was one of the first to accuse Kevin Spacey of attacking young men, and I find it very odd that you don't hear anything more about her accident — or about the person who hit her." Culkin was only the first to die.

After Linda Culkin, two more people who had made accusations about Kevin Spacey were found dead, fomenting conspiracy theories that the actor is somehow involved. There is no evidence linking Spacey to these deaths. This is something journalist Luis Prada was sure to note when, in their Cracked article "A Third Kevin Spacey Accuser Died, Which Seems Like A Lot," they wrote, "It implies something that if I write plainly could get Cracked sued and get me chained in a murder dungeon."

The second person to die was an anonymous massage therapist who sued Spacey in September 2018. He also had a criminal case against Spacey with the LA County District Attorney's office for sexual battery, assault, gender violence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and false imprisonment stemming from an October 2016 incident. The September 2019 news of the masseur's death came almost exactly one year later, and Spacey's attorneys quickly publicized the death in order to end the case in court.

The masseur's attorney responded in a blistering statement (via Variety): "I regret being forced to respond to Kevin Spacey's undignified, insensitive and inappropriate public filing ... Spacey ignored our request for compassion and filed the notice yesterday without our consent." While they added that their client's "fight for justice is still very much alive," his case against Spacey ultimately died with him.

Ari Behn was the third person to die after accusing Kevin Spacey of wrongdoing, and the most notable of them all. Not only was Behn a popular Norwegian author, but he was also married to the Princess of Norway. In 2017, he alleged that Spacey had groped him, though he did not pursue charges. The 47-year-old died by supposed suicide on December 25, 2019, just one day after Spacey posted another infamous Christmastime video, this one forebodingly titled "KTWK" (which stands for "Kill Them With Kindness").

In the video, Spacey once again portrayed his conniving and murderous character from "House of Cards," Frank Underwood. "It's been a pretty good year, and I'm grateful to have my health back," Spacey said in the video, referring to a year in which three of his accusers died and several cases against him were dropped.

"Ah, yes. I know what you're thinking. 'Can he be serious?' I'm dead serious," Spacey added. "The next time someone does something you don't like, you can go on the attack. But you can also hold your fire and do the unexpected. You can kill them — with kindness." Given the references to death, some connected it with Behn's passing the next day, and online conspiracy theories formed that the three deaths were more than a mere coincidence.

Kevin Spacey largely stayed out of the news throughout 2020 and most of 2021, and the media certainly had bigger fish to fry, from the pandemic to major elections. When he did appear in the news, he was reminding everyone that he's seemingly fortune's favorite son. In 2022, we finally learned the verdict of Spacey's civil case involving Rapp, whose accusation started Spacey's downfall in the first place — a federal jury ruled that the actor was not liable, despite Spacey facing a new round of alarming details during the trial. It's interesting to note that Spacey actually took back his notorious apology from October 30, 2017, saying in court (via NBC), "I've learned a lesson: Never apologize for something you didn't do. I regret my entire statement."

In 2023, Spacey was found not guilty in a much bigger trial involving four men from the Old Vic Theatre. The month-long trial in London ended with Spacey being cleared of all seven counts of sexual assault. One of the four men had separately sued Spacey, and as a result of the not guilty verdict in 2023, a judge ultimately ruled in Spacey's favor. Thus, as with the 2019 civil suit in Nantucket, Spacey prevailed.

However, he wasn't necessarily unscathed, considering the damage done to his reputation and career. As one Los Angeles Times headline put it, "Kevin Spacey acquittal doesn't mean he should be uncanceled." Spacey sought sympathy for his plight when he gave a teary-eyed interview to Piers Morgan in June 2024, claiming that he was millions of dollars in debt and wasn't sure where he would live.

While Kevin Spacey kept beating the legal allegations, that didn't stop new ones from surfacing. A damning Channel 4 documentary, "Spacey Unmasked," unearthed new accusations against him in 2024. Actor Rauri Cannon filed a sexual assault charge against Spacey in February 2025, also launching lawsuits against organizations connected with the Old Vic. Spacey claimed to have no recollection of ever meeting Cannon.

Shortly after news of those charges broke, actor Guy Pearce accused Spacey of predatory behavior toward him while making their 1997 film, "LA Confidential." Pearce previously spoke out about Spacey in 2018 but elaborated further in 2025. He told The Hollywood Reporter, "I was sort of scared of Kevin because he's quite an aggressive man ... I was young and susceptible, and he targeted me, no question." Pearce made sure to add, "I was certainly not a victim by any means to the extent that other people have been to sexual predators."

Spacey, apparently done with apologies or PR damage control of any kind, responded bluntly with a video posted on X. "Here you are now on a mission, some 28 years later, after I've been through hell and back," he said, adding, "Guy — you need to grow up. You are not a victim." The fact that these allegations from an actor as notable as Pearce didn't seem to rock the industry (or even vibrate it) seemed to indicate that the heady social justice days of 2017 had long since passed and, with the advent of a second Trump administration, things had changed.

The cultural atmosphere of 2025 almost seemed like the polar opposite of 2017 and 2018; instead of Kevin Spacey and Roseanne Barr being "canceled," it was Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert's late-night liberal shows. Discourse drifted to the idea of #MeToo being dead, and The Hollywood Reporter titled an article "From Diddy to Spacey, Celebrity #MeToo Cases Are Proving Tough to Convict."

After a years-long downfall, Spacey seemed almost poised for a comeback. His fellow actors were ready to welcome him back. Sharon Stone, Liam Neeson, and Stephen Fry called for his return to acting, as did F. Murray Abraham and Brian Cox. Spacey received two separate lifetime achievement awards in Italy and was honored with another at a gala during the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. "It's very nice to be back," he said at the event (per AFP/France 24), adding, "I'm glad to be working, I'll tell you that."

He certainly is working, with Spacey filming more projects in 2024 and 2025 than in the previous six years combined. It's a comeback that Spacey himself predicted in 2023, telling the German newspaper Die Zeit (via The Hill), "I know that there are people right now who are ready to hire me the moment I am cleared of these charges." He said of the dozens of allegations against him, "In 10 years, it won't mean anything. My work will live longer than I will, and that's what will be remembered." Considering the state of our culture and the men who are in charge, he's probably right.

If you or anyone you know needs help with sexual assault or suicidal thoughts, contact the relevant resources below:

• The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

• Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org