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American actor Kevin Spacey vehemently denied the allegations of sexual assault for which he is currently on trial in London on Friday, citing “consensual” relationships and lambasting the “weak” prosecution case.

The 63-year-old luminary, who has been standing trial since late June, pled not guilty to twelve counts of sexual assault on four men spanning from 2001 to 2013, notably in 2004 when he was the director of the prestigious Old Vic theater in London.

The most severe accusation against the actor, a two-time Oscar recipient for his roles in American Beauty and The Usual Suspects, comes from a man who alleges that Spacey “drugged” him and engaged in sexual activity with him while he was unconscious.

“He did not fall asleep, and I did not engage in any sexual activity while he was asleep, despite the shocking accusation he leveled against me,” responded Spacey on Friday, garbed as he was the previous day in a somber suit. “I do not know who made the first move, but we were consensual in a romantic situation,” he added.

When the prosecutor, Christine Agnew, suggested the complainant was asleep, Spacey retorted, “That’s your theory.”

“That’s the case for the prosecution,” the prosecutor fired back.

“And it’s weak,” was the actor’s swift rejoinder.

None of the four complainants who testified during the initial weeks of the trial at London’s Southwark Crown Court had spoken out against the actor before the inception of the #MeToo movement in 2017.

For prosecutor Christine Agnew, the actor was the “golden boy” of London’s theater world at the time, and it was “unlikely” the alleged victims would have spoken out, “because of who he was.”

“I utilized my position gratefully to assist others, to create art,” Spacey rebutted. He went on to assert that he “didn’t have a magic wand to wave whenever (he) wanted someone to sleep with (him).”

When the prosecutor asked him if he had engaged in sexual relationships to feel less alone, he responded, “Welcome to life, yes,” inciting a smattering of laughter in the courtroom.

According to Spacey, “if (the alleged victims) went further than they wanted (…), they did not make me aware of it.”

Spacey also referenced “consensual interactions” with a second complainant, who accuses him of sexually assaulting him by grabbing his private parts “very hard” while he was driving.

“It was gentle (…) and in my mind, romantic,” Spacey countered on Thursday, describing himself as a “big flirt” but denying any “violent,” “aggressive,” or “painful” behavior.

Spacey, who is appearing free on bail, also denies the accusations of two other alleged victims.

One of them accuses him of grabbing his crotch “like a cobra” and speaking to him very aggressively. But Spacey insists this complainant “fabricated his story from start to finish.”

“I do not accept a single word that comes out of his mouth,” he emphasized on Friday. When the prosecutor asked why the alleged victim would have lied, Spacey responded: “Money, money, and more money.”

Concerning the fourth complainant who accuses Spacey of kissing him on the neck twice and grabbing his crotch, the actor stated on Friday that he had “misread the signals” but claimed he did not remember assaulting him.

“We had all had quite a lot to drink, and I think millions of people know what it’s like to make advances on someone and realize they’ve misread the signals (…) It happens.”

“You’re saying I grabbed his crotch. I do not accept that that’s what happened,” he asserted.

The trial of the American actor is expected to last a month.

Kevin Spacey stands accused of seven counts of sexual assault and two counts of non-consensual sexual activity, one of which involves penetration. He faces a possible life sentence.

With AFP