Anthony Rapp Lawyer Begins Closing Arguments: Kevin Spacey’s Memory Is ‘Not Worthy of Your Belief’

Closing arguments began Thursday in what so far has been a speedy civil trial for Kevin Spacey, accused by Anthony Rapp of sexually propositioning the “Rent” actor when he was just 14.

Rapp’s lawyer began closing arguments by attacking Spacey’s recollection of events from the 1986 encounter.

“It’s inconsistent. It’s not worthy of your belief,” attorney Richard Steigman told the jury, according to Reuters.

Spacey’s legal team rested its case Wednesday, after calling to the stand a forensic psychiatrist who said Rapp showed no signs of post-traumatic stress from the encounter 36 years ago, displayed “narcissistic tendencies” and seemed only to be seeking attention with the lawsuit.

Rapp sued Spacey in 2017 for $40 million in a New York civil court, saying the disgraced “House of Cards” actor picked him up and laid on top of him in 1986 when the “Rent” star was just 14. Spacey, 26 at the time, denied the allegations on the stand this week, admitting that he took Rapp and his 19-year-old friend clubbing and back to his apartment that night, but only engaged in “playful flirting” with the older teen.

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Spacey’s team has made much of the discrepancy between Rapp and his friend’s stories; before the trial began, the friend gave his own sworn deposition that seemed to support Spacey’s timeline and version of events.

The trial began Oct. 6. Rapp and Spacey have both testified and faced cross-examination in what so far has been a brisk trial in New York state court. Both Rapp and Spacey became emotional during their turns on the stand; at one point Spacey revealed for the first time that he was raised by a “white supremacist, Neo-Nazi” father.

Rapp’s team called its own psychologist, who testified on Tuesday that the “Star Trek: Discovery” actor had suffered PTSD, relationship problems and depression and anxiety from the alleged attack.

But Chase Scolnick, Spacey’s attorney, argued that Rapp seemed to be living a normal, happy, successful life, corroborated by Alexander Bardey, the psychiatric expert for the defense. Scolnick asked Bardey what it said about Rapp that he had told his friends over the years about Spacey, but never his therapist.

“Telling friends,” Bardey said, “speaks to his narcissistic tendencies.”

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Rapp brought two civil charges, one of battery and another of intentionally inflicting emotional distress. In a win for Spacey, the judge threw out the latter charge last week, and only the battery charge remains to be decided by the jury.

Spacey has fiercely denied any wrongdoing, and said on the stand that he regrets initially issuing an apology for the incident, which he did under pressure from his publicist. Spacey will also face criminal sexual misconduct charges in the U.K. next summer for unrelated incidents involving three men.