Kevin Spacey is facing serious accusations in his sexual assault trial that began in London on Wednesday. The prosecution has branded Spacey as a "sexual bully" and presented numerous allegations against him during the opening statements of the trial.
One chilling incident the prosecution shared involved an unnamed man who alleged that, after drinking and smoking with Spacey, he fell unconscious, only to wake up with Spacey performing non-consensual oral sex on him.
Furthermore, allegations were put forth about Spacey's inappropriate behavior with his driver. The man accused the actor of being excessively "touchy-feely" in the passenger seat of the car, BBC News reports.
According to the driver's testimony, the encounters escalated over time with Spacey progressively becoming more intrusive, with unsolicited touches on his leg, neck rubbing, and eventually, an alleged groping episode that was described as "aggressive."
Another incident allegedly took place backstage at the Haymarket Theatre in London's West End, where Spacey is said to have manhandled another man, grabbing him so forcefully that it caused him pain.
However, Spacey, who faces 12 charges of sexual assault involving four men, vehemently denies all these accusations. The actor was spotted heading into the court, seemingly in high spirits, despite the severity of the charges. If convicted, Spacey faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison.
Actor Anthony Rapp first came forward with allegations of sexual assault against the American Beauty actor in 2017. As a result of the Rent actor's claims, other men followed suit with their own alleged stories of sexual misconduct.
Shortly after the allegations came to the fore, Spacey came out as a gay man in a statement on Twitter.
He said at the time: "I have a lot of respect and admiration for Anthony Rapp as an actor. I'm beyond horrified to hear his story. I honestly do not remember the encounter, it would have been over 30 years ago.
"But if I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior, and I am sorry for the feelings he described having carried with him all these years.
"This story has encouraged me to address other things in my life. I know that there are stories out there about me and that some have been fueled by the fact that I have been so protective of my privacy. As those closest to me know, in my life I have had relationships with both men and women.
"I have loved and had romantic encounters with men throughout my life, and I choose now to live as a gay man. I want to deal with this honestly and openly and that starts with examining my own behavior. [sic]"