Anthony Rapp felt compelled to come forward with misconduct allegations against Kevin Spacey to protect others.
The Star Trek: Discovery actor alleged the Oscar winner pinned him to a bed in his apartment when Rapp was just 14 and the claims prompted bosses at streaming service Netflix to fire Spacey from hit drama House of Cards.
The disgraced actor was also replaced by Christopher Plummer in Ridley Scott’s Getty kidnap drama All the Money in the World as more allegations were made.
Rapp now explains he knew that coming forward would be “risky”, but he was hoping his comments would prompt others to speak up.
“I knew that there were more stories so I was just hopeful that coming forward would encourage more people to tell the truth,” he said during an appearance on The Talk on Friday (02Jan18). “I knew that it was a risky thing. I knew that he was very popular and certainly a respected actor, but at the same time I knew that I was trying to protect people.”
After opening about his alleged experience with Kevin, Rapp received support from a number of his fellow celebrities and admitted he was grateful for the feedback.
“I’ve been very surprised by it all,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “I’ve been very gratified by the response I’ve gotten from so many people. I think all of this is an important step to dismantle the machinery that allowed this sort of thing to continue.”
Since Rapp came forward, several others have accused Spacey of inappropriate sexual behavior and British police officers are investigating three criminal complaints against the actor, who was a former director at London’s Old Vic theatre.
