Kevin Spacey Found Not Guilty Of Sexual Assault Charges In The U.K.

Kevin Spacey returning to court in the U.K.
(Image credit: Photo by Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images)

Over the past few years there have been sweeping changes made in Hollywood as a result of the #MeToo movement. Some of the first explosive accusations made during this time were against actor Kevin Spacey, who was promptly fired from Netflix's House of Cards. He's been spending a ton of time in court lately, including facing a number of charges of sexual assault in the U.K.. But he's seemingly won that legal battle, as Spacey has been found not guilty in all of the charges that went to court.

This news comes to us from TMZ and is sure to quickly go viral given how much of a public figure Kevin Spacey is. After the jury deliberated for two days, the American Beauty star was reportedly found not guilty on nine counts of misconduct, in addition to charges that were previously thrown out. This comes after Spacey previously won his legal battle against Anthony Rapp, who accused him of making advances toward him at just 14 years old.

If his time in court went differently, Kevin Spacey could have faced life in prison. He reportedly looked quite relieved and happy as the verdict was announced for obvious reasons. Has Spacey finally reached the end of this long legal battle related to sexual misconduct allegations? Only time will tell.

As previously mentioned, the allegations made against Kevin Spacey go back years. He and Harvey Weinstein were some of the first powerful Hollywood figures who were accused of sexual misconduct. He denied any wrongdoing, while also shooting and releasing strange videos as his House of Cards character Frank Underwood

Kevin Spacey in House of Cards

(Image credit: Netflix)

Given just how serious the charges were against Spacey, plenty of people have been following how things were shaking out in the courts across the pond. His defense seemingly focused on poking holes in the stories from his accusers. That included having Elton John testify about one alleged incident, arguing against the timeline of allegations. And now it seems like those efforts ultimately paid off for the 64 year-old actor. 

Clearly Spacey's  team is effective, given his legal victories in both London and here in the states. Since he's been found not guilty again, I wonder if we'll get another Frank Underwood video reacting to this news. What's more, I'm curious to see if his career in TV and film is able to recover from the controversy that he's become so synonymous with over the last few years. 

Kevin Spacey personally took the stand in his own defense, and gave his recollection of certain alleged incidents. That included the claim that his encounters with accusers was consensual. Indeed, Spacey came out as queer after accusations started rolling in. 

We'll just have to wait and see if more lawsuits or charges pop up for Spacey, and if his career is able to bounce back. Be sure to heck out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your nest movie experience. 

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Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.