Kevin Spacey Issues Apology to Actor After Sexual Accusation

Kevin Spacey, a two-time Oscar winner, apologized Sunday night for what he said “would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior” after the actor Anthony Rapp made an accusation about his sexual conduct with him 31 years ago, when Mr. Rapp was 14 years old.

Mr. Spacey, who has long been fiercely private about his personal life, said in a statement that he did not remember any such encounter, but added that Mr. Rapp’s accusation “has encouraged me to address other things about my life.” He then disclosed that he had “loved and had romantic encounters with men throughout my life, and I choose now to live as a gay man.”

The rapid cycle of accusation and apology began Sunday evening, when BuzzFeed published an article in which Mr. Rapp alleged that Mr. Spacey “was trying to get with me sexually” after a party at Mr. Spacey’s apartment in 1986. After all the other guests had left, Mr. Rapp said that Mr. Spacey, who appeared intoxicated, “picked me up like a groom picks up the bride over the threshold. But I don’t, like, squirm away initially, because I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ And then he lays down on top of me.”

Mr. Rapp, who is best known for playing the character Mark Cohen in the original Broadway production of “Rent,” confirmed the contents of the article and said he had decided to speak out at a time when several women have accused the producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment and assault.

“I came forward with my story, standing on the shoulders of the many courageous women and men who have been speaking out, to shine a light and hopefully make a difference, as they have done for me,” Mr. Rapp said in an emailed statement. “Everything I wanted to say about my experience is in that article, and I have no further comment about it at this time.”

Mr. Spacey had not responded to requests for comment from BuzzFeed. But a few hours after the article was published, he posted a statement to Twitter, saying he was “horrified” but did not remember the encounter.

Mr. Rapp said he met Mr. Spacey in 1986 when both were performing in Broadway shows. Mr. Rapp was a child actor in a new play called “Precious Sons,” while Mr. Spacey, then 26, was performing in a revival of “Long Day’s Journey Into Night.” Mr. Rapp told BuzzFeed that he met Mr. Spacey at a Broadway party that year, and that Mr. Spacey invited him to the party where the sexual advance occurred.

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