Oscar winner Kevin Spacey’s apology to actor Anthony Rapp has unleashed a flood of negative reactions on Twitter. Spacey’s decision to combine a coming-out statement with apology to Rapp, who has accused him of sexual misconduct when Rapp was just 14, was slammed.
Observers were shocked that Spacey took the opportunity to talk about his own sexuality in the midst of the accusation of underage sexual assault.
“Savage Love” writer and “It Gets Better” creator Dan Savage strongly condemned his statement, saying “There’s no amount of drunk or closeted that excuses or explains away asssaulting a 14-year-old child.”
Openly gay actor Zachary Quinto wrote in a lengthy statement posted on Twitter, “It is deeply sad and troubling that this is how Kevin Spacey has chosen to come out. Not by standing up as a point of pride — in the light of all his many awards and accomplishments, thus inspiring tens of thousands of struggling LGBTQ kids around the world — but as a calculated manipulation to deflect attention from the very serious accusation that he attempted to molest one.”