For the last couple of days, Manhattan federal court jurors have heard cringing sexual allegations that actor Anthony Rapp and his witnesses have made against Kevin Spacey. Rapp paused several times as he told jurors about a 1986 incident where Spacey lifted him up “like a groom carrying a bride over the threshold” before climbing on top of him. At the time, the Rent star was 14 years old while Spacey was 26 or 27. In the $40 million lawsuit against Spacey, which is set to take two weeks, jurors will be tasked with deciding whether the House of Cards actor is liable for Rapp’s claims of battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
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Attorneys for Spacey have argued that Rapp manufactured the allegations against their client out of jealousy. They claim that the openly gay Rapp was upset that his decision to come out of the closet had limited his career prospects. Rapp pushed back at that assertion in his testimony, saying that he never blamed being openly gay on any “dry period” in his professional life. He said he told several people about the Spacey incident during times when he was “working very, very steadily.”
To make their case, expected to call an array of individuals on the stand, from a former Rent co-star to several other actors, to Rapp’s own playwright brother, Adam Rapp.
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Best known for his role in Doctor Who and Torchwood, John Barrowman will be crucial in Spacey’s defense against Rapp’s allegations since he was with the two the night they first allegedly hung out. Barrowman is expected to say he and Spacey were flirting that night, not Rapp. Adam Vary is poised to have a contentious time on the stand as the journalist who penned the 2017 Buzzfeed article where Rapp first detailed his allegations against Spacey. The actor’s legal team has previously noted that although Vary is a friend of Rapp’s, he did not disclose their relationship in the article.
Spacey’s manager, Evan Lowenstein, is also expected time on the stand. Spacey’s lawyers have revealed in court that Lowenstein has been acting as an “investigator” in their case and is “essential” as they move forward to presenting to the jury. In a surprise move, the defense team is expected to call upon Adam Rapp, the 57-year-old playwright, producer and older brother of Anthony Rapp. It is not immediately known what he will be asked. Other witnesses expected to be called by the defense include Rapp’s Rent co-star Tracie Thomas and 78-year-old actress Kathe Green, although it’s not clear what she will add to Spacey’s case, especially since she has not acted or been a part of a production in decades.
