Kevin Spacey is publicly lashing out at a new docuseries that will detail allegations of decades of sexual abuse by the once-acclaimed actor.
The U.K.’s Channel 4 is producing the two-part series, titled Spacey Unmasked, which will premiere in early May.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the series will deliver a “forensic look” at Spacey’s leap to stardom and the allegations of sexual abuse that subsequently befell his career. Spacey Unmasked will feature several never-before-seen interviews from Spacey’s accusers, most of whom have yet to speak publicly.
In a lengthy post to X (formerly Twitter), Spacey, 64, called the docuseries “one-sided” and a “desperate attempt for ratings.”
Spacey said Channel 4 has given him seven days to respond to “allegations made against me dating back 48 years.”
The House of Cards actor bemoaned the deadline and said Channel 4 refused to accommodate his request for more time and to provide him with the “sufficient details” needed to investigate the allegations made against him.
“Channel 4 has refused on the basis that they feel that asking for a response in 7 days to new, anonymized and non-specific allegations is a ‘fair opportunity’ for me to refute any allegations made against me,” Spacey wrote. “I will not sit back and be attacked by a dying network’s one-sided ‘documentary’ about me in their desperate attempt for ratings.”
“There’s a proper channel to handle allegations against me and it’s not Channel 4,” he continued, referring to official legal channels. “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.”
Spacey said he would make further comments about the docuseries in the coming days.
The email you need for the day’s
top news stories from Canada and around the world.
In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Channel 4 said simply, “Kevin Spacey has been given sufficient opportunity to respond.”
The broadcaster maintained they would still be airing Spacey Unmasked on May 6 and 7, as planned.
Spacey was acquitted of sexual offences against four men in the U.K. in 2023. The four-week trail saw all of Spacey’s accusers claim the actor either sexually assaulted them or groped them without consent. For his part, Spacey denied any wrongdoing and said any sexual interactions were either consensual or “pure fantasy.”
Spacey was found not guilty of nine sexual offences that his accusers said occurred between 2004 and 2013.
In October 2022, an American jury also sided with Spacey and found he did not molest his first public accuser, actor Anthony Rapp, who said he was 14 in 1986 when he was allegedly assaulted by Spacey.
According to the Spacey Unmasked docuseries description, “This two-part series will investigate Spacey’s conduct and talks to multiple men unconnected to that case about their experiences with Kevin Spacey, almost all of whom have never spoken before.”
Spacey Unmasked will hear 10 men, all of whom have accused the actor of abuse, according to The Hollywood Reporter. None of the 10 accusers were involved in Spacey’s London trial, and all but one have never spoken publicly.
The allegations span five decades, ranging from Spacey’s teenage years to the peak of his House of Cards acting success.
One man, identified only as an actor named Daniel, called Spacey a “soulless monster.”
Spacey’s brother, Randy, is also interviewed in the series and discusses their childhood years under a father who he said held “Nazi meetings” at their home.
As Spacey took his rant about the docuseries to X, British broadcast personality Piers Morgan offered to host Spacey on his self-titled talker for a “fair hearing that will be watched around the world.”
Spacey Unmasked will broadcast on Channel 4 in the U.K. on May 6 and May 7. (The dates for its release on Investigation Discovery and Max — Crave in Canada — will be announced next week.)
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.