Kevin Spacey feels 'welcomed' by Hollywood after sexual abuse claims

Amaris Encinas, USA TODAYMon, June 29, 2026 at 10:54 PM UTC

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Kevin Spacey is feeling better about the odds of making a career comeback following years of litigation tied to a wave of sexual abuse and harassment allegations.

Speaking with Bill Maher on the June 28 episode of the comedian's "Club Random" podcast, the "American Beauty" star responded to claims made by Maher about there being "too much smoke to be no fire" when referring to the sheer number of accusations leveled against the 66-year-old actor since 2017.

"I never said there was no fire," Spacey said. "It just wasn't a raging forest fire. It was a small kitchen fire that could have been put out with an extinguisher."

Allegations against the two-time Oscar winner were brought to light in 2017 when actor Anthony Rapp accused Spacey, then 27 years old, of molesting him at a party in 1986. Rapp said he was 14 at the time.

A federal jury found Spacey "not liable" after a three-week trial in 2022, two years after Rapp first filed a civil lawsuit seeking compensatory and punitive damages. Additional accusations, from 15 other people, many of whom had worked on "House of Cards" with Spacey, followed.

Spacey, who has denied all wrongdoing, was later acquitted by a London jury on nine sexual assault charges lodged by four men in 2023. He settled with three accusers, who claimed that Spacey sexually assaulted them between 2000 and 2013, out of court in March 2026.

"We've been found 'not guilty' in every court we've gone into with a jury," Spacey said.

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Kevin Spacey feels 'much more welcomed' in Hollywood

According to Spacey, Hollywood's starting to feel like home again.

"Well, I feel less in (show business) jail than I did," Spacey said, adding that when people "actually start to hear the facts, understand what we've won in courts," that they likely look at the situation now and think, "Hm, maybe nine years has been enough."

Spacey was removed from the movie "All the Money in the World" after the first allegations of sexual assault emerged, but has gone on to participate in various projects over the years, including "1780," "Torrente for President," "Minimarket" and "The Contract" among others.

"... if I had been a sports figure, I would have been benched for seven games," Spacey said. "A sports person is accused of something, and they're benched for seven days, seven games and then they're back on the field."

"But I'm saying, if you're hitting home runs, they want you on the field. So, I believe we're at a point now where I think people now are beginning to look at what actually happened and I feel much more welcomed and I think that things are moving in the direction that we hoped they'd be moving in," Spacey added.

Contributing: Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY and Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kevin Spacey says career is bouncing back after sexual assault claims

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