Sharon Stone, Stephen Fry and Liam Neeson are among the stars to have called for Kevin Spacey to be allowed to resume his career as an actor.
The actors shared statements of support with The Telegraph in the wake of the Channel 4 documentary Spacey Unmasked, which aired fresh allegations about the American Beauty star.
Spacey was last year acquitted of a number of sexual offences alleged by four men in the UK to have taken place between 2001 and 2013.
Each of Spacey’s accusers gave evidence in the trial, describing him as a “vile sexual predator”, “slippery” and “atrocious, despicable, disgusting”.
In response, the two-time Oscar-winner described the allegations against him as “madness” and a “stab in the back”.
The jury acquitted Spacey of all charges.
Basic Instinct star Stone told The Telegraph: “I can’t wait to see Kevin back at work. He is a genius. He is so elegant and fun, generous to a fault and knows more about our craft than most of us ever will.”
Neeson told the newspaper: “I was deeply saddened to learn of these accusations against him. Kevin is a good man and a man of character. He’s sensitive, articulate and non-judgmental, with a terrific sense of humour. He is also one of our finest artists in the theatre and on camera. Personally speaking, our industry needs him and misses him greatly.”
Fry, meanwhile, admitted that Spacey had been “both ‘clumsy’ and ‘inappropriate’ on many occasions” but that to “bracket him with the likes of Harvey Weinstein” and “to continue to harass and hound him, to devote a whole documentary to accusations that simply do not add up to crimes … how can that be considered proportionate and justified?”
The former QI host added: “Surely it is wrong to continue to batter a reputation on the strength of assertion and rhetoric rather than evidence and proof? Unless I’m missing something I think he has paid the price.”
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The White Lotus star F Murray Abraham also said he “vouched for” Spacey “unequivocally” and lambasted his critics for chastising “a man who has publicly accepted his responsibility for certain behaviour, unlike so many others”.
Spacey was one of the most recognised faces in Hollywood when allegations of sexual misconduct were first made in 2017, leading streaming giant Netflix to cut ties with the then-star of House of Cards.
The actor Anthony Rapp was the first to accuse the Hollywood A-lister of misconduct, telling BuzzFeed News that Spacey tried “to seduce” him when he was just 14. In 2022, a New York jury dismissed Rapp’s claims of sexual abuse.
Channel 4’s recent documentary interviewed 10 men not involved in the 2023 criminal trial.
Spacey described the claims as “anonymised and non-specific”, before writing off the programme as “a dying network’s one-sided ‘documentary’ about me in their desperate attempt for ratings”.
He added: “Each time I have been given the time and a proper forum to defend myself, the allegations have failed under scrutiny and I have been exonerated.”
Channel 4 stood by its documentary, broadcast over two nights last week, saying in a statement: “Spacey Unmasked is an important film exploring the balance of power and inappropriate behaviour in a work environment, aiming to give a voice to those who have previously been unable to speak out.”