Kevin Spacey Accusers: Trials, Settlements, and Deaths

More than 30 people have publicly accused Kevin Spacey of sexual misconduct since October 2017, with alleged incidents stretching from 1981 to 2016 across New York, Los Angeles, London, and Oslo. The Kevin Spacey accusers include actors, theater staff, film crew members, a massage therapist, and a Norwegian author, and their allegations range from unwanted groping to attempted rape. Spacey has been acquitted or cleared in every criminal charge and every civil jury trial brought against him, though in March 2026 he reached a confidential out-of-court settlement with three men who had sued him in London’s High Court.

Who the Accusers Are

The first public accusation came from actor Anthony Rapp on October 29, 2017. Rapp told BuzzFeed News that in 1986, at a party in Spacey’s Manhattan apartment, the then-26-year-old Spacey picked him up, placed him on a bed, and climbed on top of him. Rapp was 14. Spacey said he did not remember the encounter but offered “the sincerest apology,” a statement widely criticized because it also served as his public coming-out as gay.¹

Within weeks, at least 15 named or identifiable accusers had come forward. Most were men, and many had been young at the time of the alleged incidents.¹

Harry Dreyfuss, son of actor Richard Dreyfuss, said Spacey repeatedly groped his thigh and crotch in 2008, when he was 18, while the two rehearsed lines in Spacey’s London apartment. Spacey’s lawyer “absolutely” denied the allegation.²

Andy Holtzman said that in 1981, when he was 27 and working at New York’s Public Theater, a 22-year-old Spacey entered his office and groped him without a word, then became angry and stormed out when Holtzman pushed him off and screamed.³

Ari Behn, the Norwegian author and former husband of Princess Märtha Louise, said Spacey grabbed him “by the balls” at a Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo in 2007.⁴

Kate Edwards, an assistant on a 1986 London production, was one of the few female accusers. She said Spacey invited her to his flat under the pretense of a birthday party, pressured her for sex, and told her to find her own way home when she resisted.⁵

Others who came forward publicly included Roberto Cavazos, who described being groped or nearly groped at the Old Vic bar; Tony Montana, who said Spacey grabbed his genitals at a Los Angeles pub in 2003; Kris Nixon, who alleged a crotch grab at a 2007 London party; Mark Ebenhoch, a military adviser on the 1995 film Outbreak who said a crew member solicited him for sex on Spacey’s instructions; Daniel Beal, who said Spacey exposed himself to him in 2010 when he was 19 and gave him a watch to buy his silence; and Justin Dawes, who said Spacey plied him with cocktails and played pornography in 1988, when he was 16. An anonymous artist identified in court filings as “C.D.” alleged a sexual relationship beginning in 1983, when he was 14, that included an attempted rape.⁵¹

The House of Cards Crew

A November 2017 CNN investigation gathered accounts from eight current or former House of Cards employees who described Spacey’s on-set behavior as “predatory,” involving nonconsensual touching and sexually charged comments aimed primarily at young male crew members. All eight spoke anonymously, citing fear of retaliation.⁶

The most detailed account came from a former production assistant who described two assaults in a single day during an early season. He said Spacey put his hands down his pants while he was driving the actor to set, then later cornered him in a trailer and blocked his exit. When the assistant had earlier complained to a supervisor about Spacey’s behavior, the response was to make sure he was never left alone with the actor.⁷

MRC, the production company, acknowledged that in 2012 a crew member had complained about a remark and gesture, and said the matter was resolved after Spacey completed a “training process.”⁷

The Old Vic Investigation

Spacey ran London’s Old Vic Theatre as artistic director from 2004 to 2015. After the accusations became public, the theatre commissioned law firm Lewis Silkin to conduct an independent review, which received 20 individual allegations of inappropriate behavior, all involving men. Sixteen came from former staff. The alleged conduct ranged from behavior that “made people feel uncomfortable” to sexually inappropriate touching, and more than half of the incidents were said to have taken place inside the theatre.⁸⁹

With one exception, none of the incidents had been reported to management during Spacey’s tenure. The review concluded that a “cult of personality” around Spacey had discouraged young actors and junior staff from speaking up. Spacey was invited to participate and did not respond. The theatre issued a public apology.¹⁰

Criminal Cases and Their Outcomes

Nantucket, Massachusetts

Former Boston television anchor Heather Unruh alleged in November 2017 that Spacey had groped her then-18-year-old son at the Club Car restaurant in Nantucket in July 2016. Spacey was charged in January 2019 with one felony count of indecent assault and battery.¹¹

The case collapsed. The accuser’s cellphone, which the defense argued held exculpatory text messages, went missing after Unruh admitted to deleting data from it before turning it over to police. At a July 2019 evidentiary hearing about the missing phone, the accuser invoked his Fifth Amendment right, and the judge struck his testimony. On July 17, 2019, prosecutors dropped the charges, citing “the unavailability of the complaining witness.” A related civil lawsuit had been voluntarily dismissed with prejudice days earlier.¹²

Los Angeles County

Los Angeles prosecutors reviewed at least two complaints. One, involving an alleged 1992 assault, was declined as outside the statute of limitations.¹³ A second, from an anonymous massage therapist who said Spacey forced him to touch Spacey’s genitals during an October 2016 session, was rejected after the therapist died in September 2019, with prosecutors citing the inability to prove the allegations without him.⁴

London

The Crown Prosecution Service charged Spacey in 2022 with nine sexual offences involving four men, covering incidents alleged between 2001 and 2013. The counts included seven of sexual assault, one of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, and one of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent. After a nearly four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court, the jury acquitted Spacey on all nine charges on July 26, 2023, following roughly 12 hours of deliberation.¹⁴

Civil Lawsuits and Their Outcomes

Anthony Rapp

Rapp and the pseudonymous “C.D.” sued Spacey in September 2020 in New York state court under the Child Victims Act. Rapp’s case went to a three-week federal trial in October 2022, where he sought $40 million. The judge dismissed a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress during the proceedings. On October 20, 2022, after about an hour of deliberation, the jury unanimously found Spacey not liable for battery.¹⁵¹⁶

The Los Angeles Massage Therapist

The anonymous massage therapist filed a federal lawsuit in Los Angeles in September 2018. A judge ordered him to disclose his identity to Spacey’s legal team while keeping it sealed from the public. After his death in September 2019, his son was appointed special administrator of the estate. The case was dismissed with prejudice in December 2019, with no settlement money paid.¹⁷

The 2026 UK Settlement

Three men with professional ties to the Old Vic filed civil sexual assault claims against Spacey in London’s High Court. Two had been complainants in the 2023 criminal trial. The claimants were identified as LNP, who alleged roughly 12 assaults between 2000 and 2005; GHI, who alleged a 2008 assault after meeting Spacey through an Old Vic workshop and cited psychiatric damage and financial loss; and Ruari Cannon, the only claimant to waive anonymity, who alleged Spacey groped him at a 2013 party at the Savoy Hotel after the press night of Sweet Bird of Youth.¹⁸

A trial had been scheduled for October 2026. On March 13, 2026, a court order confirmed that the lawsuits had been stayed after the parties reached a confidential out-of-court settlement. Cannon had separately settled with the Old Vic itself, with no admission of liability.¹⁹ Spacey maintained his innocence, saying that every time he had been “given the time and a proper forum to defend myself, the allegations have failed under scrutiny.”¹⁸

Three Deaths in 2019

Three people connected to the case died in 2019. The anonymous Los Angeles massage therapist died in September; no cause was widely reported.²⁰ Ari Behn died by suicide on December 25, 2019, at age 47.²¹ Linda Culkin, a former nursing assistant who had pleaded guilty in 2014 to sending death and bomb threats to Spacey and his associates, was struck and killed by a vehicle in Quincy, Massachusetts, in May 2019.⁴

Career and Financial Consequences

Netflix cut ties with Spacey in November 2017, ending his involvement in House of Cards and shelving the film Gore.²²²³²⁴²⁵

Spacey has said the years of litigation left him financially devastated. His Baltimore mansion was sold at a foreclosure auction for $3.2 million in July 2024 after he defaulted on $20,000-a-month mortgage payments. He has described his legal costs as “astronomical” and said he owes “many millions” but avoided bankruptcy.²⁶ Since his acquittals he has worked mainly in European productions and small independent films, including the Italian series Minimarket, which launched on RAI’s streaming platform in late 2025.²⁷

1
USA Today. Kevin Spacey Scandal: A Complete List of Accusers
2
BuzzFeed News. Actor Harry Dreyfuss: When I Was 18, Kevin Spacey Groped Me
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USA Today. New Kevin Spacey Accuser Tells of Wordless Assault
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CBS News. Kevin Spacey Accuser Ari Behn Dies
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The Cut. All of the Allegations Against Actor Kevin Spacey
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CBS News. House of Cards Employees Allege Sexual Harassment
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KCRA. House of Cards Employees Allege Sexual Harassment, Assault by Kevin Spacey
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ABC News. Kevin Spacey Accused of Misconduct by 20 at London Theater
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BBC. Old Vic Says 20 People Made Allegations Against Kevin Spacey
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CBS News. Kevin Spacey: London Old Vic Theater Received 20 Allegations
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ABC News. Sex Assault Charges Dropped Against Actor Kevin Spacey
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NPR. Prosecutors Drop Criminal Charges Against Actor Kevin Spacey
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The Wrap. District Attorney’s Office Declines Sexual Assault Case Against Kevin Spacey
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NPR. Kevin Spacey Sexual Assault Trial Verdict London
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Courthouse News. Spacey State Court Complaint
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Variety. Kevin Spacey: Anthony Rapp Loses $40 Million Sexual Battery Lawsuit
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Los Angeles Times. Kevin Spacey Sexual Assault Case Dismissed
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Variety. Kevin Spacey Settles With Sexual Assault Accusers Before London Trial
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NBC News. Kevin Spacey Settles U.K. Civil Lawsuits for Alleged Sexual Assault
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CBS News. John Doe Who Accused Kevin Spacey of Sexual Assault Dies
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Variety. Ari Behn, Kevin Spacey Accuser, Dies at 47
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NPR. Netflix Dumps Kevin Spacey From House of Cards
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The Hollywood Reporter. Robin Wright on Kevin Spacey and House of Cards Final Season
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Deadline. Kevin Spacey Loses Arbitration Over House of Cards
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Variety. House of Cards Producer Loses $29 Million Trial Over Kevin Spacey
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Realtor.com. Kevin Spacey Homeless After Foreclosure
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Variety. Kevin Spacey Books First Series Since House of Cards