Two-time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey became visibly distraught in a New York City courtroom on Oct. 17, breaking down as he blamed his publicist for convincing him to publicly apologize to Anthony Rapp in 2017 after the Rent actor accused him of sexual misconduct, Variety reported.
"I was being encouraged to apologize and I've learned a lesson, which is never apologize for something that you didn't do," Spacey said before crying. "I regret my entire statement."
Spacey is accused of making sexual advances to a then-14-year-old Rapp in 1986, when he was 26which Spacey has denied. Spacey said he had been flirtatious with actor John Barrowman, taking him back to his apartment after going out to Limelight, a popular nightspot of the era, along with Rapp; however, Spacey claimed he didn't act on the attraction because of Rapp's presence.
Also, when asked about being private about his personal life, Spacey mentioned his father, who the actor said was a white supremacist, according to NPR. Spacey added that As Spacey as he became interested in theater, he endured the screams of his father, who "used to yell at me at the idea that I might be gay."
"My father was a white supremacist and neo-Nazi," Spacey said. "It meant that my siblings and I were forced to listen to hours and hours of my father lecturing us about his beliefs."
Judge Lewis A. Kaplan dismissed Rapp's emotional distress claim against Spacey, arguing it was redundant. Spacey still faces a battery claim.