Kevin Spacey Granted Partial Dismissal in Court Tied to Anthony Rapp Assault Allegations: Report

Mar. 15, 2025

Anthony Rapp (left) and Kevin Spacey.Photo: Dia Dipasupil/Getty; Jason Merritt/Getty

Kevin Spacey’s legal team can claim a small victory in the actor’s ongoing court battle withAnthony Rappwhen U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan dismissed one of Rapp’s claims early this week.

Rapp, 50, alleges the formerHouse of Cardsstar, 63, made a sexual advance on him in his apartment when he was 14 years old in the 1980s. On Monday, Kaplan got rid of theclaim of intentional infliction of emotional distressafter Rapp’s lawyers finished their presentation of evidence, the Associated Press reported.

A lawyer for Spacey — who has has denied the allegation, as well as other sexual misconduct claims — argued for dismissal of the case, stating that Rapp’s legal team had failed to prove his allegations. Judge Kaplan ultimately decided that parts of the claim echo Rapp’s accusations that he was a victim of assault and battery and as such could not go forward, according to the Associated Press.

A legal representative for Rapp did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Kevin Spacey.Ernesto Ruscio/Getty Images

According to the AP, Spacey’s attorney Jennifer Keller questioned Rapp’s account of his first meeting with Spacey in 1986 — whichdiffered from the depositionof a friend who was present at the time — during cross-examination at the civil trial in Manhattan.

Rapp recalled under oath how Spacey allegedly asked him and his older friend to join him at a nightclub after the trio met backstage at Spacey’s Broadway show when Rapp was 14. He testified that they left the nightclub and returned home without incident, per the AP.

Kevin Spacey arrived at NY court.ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

But the unidentified friend — who was also a teen at the time — reportedly claimed in a deposition that they went to Spacey’s home the first night they met, where the Oscar winner attempted to entice Rapp into a sexual encounter.

According to the AP, Keller asked Rapp in court: “Considering the friend’s deposition, ‘You knew you had a problem with your story, correct?'” Rapp responded, “I don’t dispute his story. I just don’t remember it.”

Rapp also testified, per the AP, that he told a classmate about his sexual encounter with Spacey, alleging that he was watching television in a bedroom when Spacey “came in drunk, picked me up as a groom does a bride, and he climbed on top of me trying to get with me sexually and I managed to squirm away.”

During the cross-examination, theRentactor clarified that Spacey never attempted to touch his genitals, remove his clothing or make any references to sex. He also denied having any sort of crush or obsession with Spacey.

RELATED VIDEO: Kevin Spacey Pleads ‘Not Guilty’ to Sexual Assault Charges in London Court

Rapp first accused Spacey of sexual misconduct inan October 2017BuzzFeed report, which was published 31 years after the alleged incident. The Broadway actor is seeking $40 million in compensatory and punitive damages for battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress, according toReuters.

Jury selectionbegan earlier this month.

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In the wake of the Rapp allegations, Spacey became subject toseveral other sexual misconduct cases, including a2018 lawsuitinvolving the alleged rape of a young man.

In May, Spacey was charged with sexually assaulting three men in the U.K. Hepleaded not guilty to the chargesin July. He also pleaded not guilty to one charge of making a person engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.

While Spacey’s court date is underway in New York,his U.K. trialis set to begin some time next year.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go torainn.org.

source: people.com