Actor Kevin Spacey has been found not liable by a Manhattan jury Thursday for a battery claim brought against him by actor Anthony Rapp in a sexual abuse case.
The verdict comes days after a judge dismissed the part of the lawsuit alleging intentional infliction of emotional distress but allowed the allegation of battery to proceed to the jury verdict.
JUDGE PARTIALLY DISMISSES MISCONDUCT LAWSUIT AGAINST KEVIN SPACEY
Rapp alleged that at a party in 1986, Spacey picked him up and put him on a bed before lying on top of him. Rapp was 14 at the time, and Spacey was 26.
Spacey strongly denied the allegations made against him by the Star Trek: Discovery star, stating in court the allegations were "not true" and testifying that he was told by lawyers and publicists that he was not allowed to counter Rapp's story publicly.
“They told me I couldn’t push back on the story,” Spacey testified, per the Associated Press. “I knew I wouldn’t have any sexual interest in Anthony Rapp or any child. That I knew.”
Rapp called the alleged encounter "the most traumatic single event of my life," claiming it had "lingering impacts" on him and his career.
Allegations from Rapp and others in 2017 effectively shredded Spacey's career, with him losing his role in the final season of House of Cards and being edited out of the film All the Money in the World.
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Spacey is also facing sexual assault charges in the United Kingdom in a trial set for 2023. He has also denied those allegations.