Kevin Spacey Is a Man ‘Used to Getting His Own Way,’ Prosecutor Claims in Closing Arguments

K.J. Yossman, Naman Ramachandran and Ellise Shafer
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Kevin Spacey’s trial for sexual assault in London, U.K. is drawing to a close.

After four long weeks in the dock, Spacey looked on as Christine Agnew KC, the barrister for the prosecution, delivered her closing statements to the jury on Wednesday afternoon.

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Occasionally Spacey nodded or shook his head as she made her speech.

The alleged victims, Agnew told the jury, are “Four men unknown to each other each who made a series of allegations against another man.” But she said this is not simply a “strength in numbers” case.

“Four separate men who told friends and relations what happened to them, then told police, then came to court to tell their accounts,” she said. “Are they all motivated by ‘money money money’ as you were dramatically told by the defendant when he gave his evidence? Or have they just had enough and are no longer prepared to be the ’secret keeper’ for someone who treated them so badly.”

It is no “trifling matter” for a complainant to come to court to make allegations against another human being, Agnew continued, especially when that person is a celebrity.

“The glare of spotlight when someone is internationally famous places another burden [on them],” she explained. “Kevin Spacey Fowlery is and was a powerful man. Famous. Who would believe them? It would have ruined their lives.”

The barrister said the charges did not constitute “just a kiss or a touch or a fleeting grab of the crotch” but violated the alleged victims’ “bodily autonomy.”

And just because the complainants are men doesn’t mean they should have to put up with unwanted touching any more than women should, she said emphatically. “Society possibly in 2023 is more sympathetic to women than it is to men in these circumstances,” said Agnew. “But why should these men put up with what happened?”

One of the alleged victims, she pointed out, had been asked by Spacey’s lawyer Patrick Gibbs KC during cross-examination whether he had been “flattered” by the actor’s advances. Agnew said this was “A classic double standard,” adding that a woman would never be asked if she had enjoyed the attention of a Hollywood star. “When someone says ‘no’ they mean no,” said Agnew. “It doesn’t matter what they’re wearing or how they react to unwanted advances. They’re still unwanted.”

The barrister also admitted she had had her own “star struck moment” while cross-examining Elton John, who appeared as a witness for the defense alongside his husband David Furnish. But she urged the jury to disregard the men’s evidence, questioning what they had actually “brought to the case.”

“Don’t be side tracked by the glitter and fame,” Agnew warned. “Sir Elton said himself, if it was the Queen [in front of him] he probably wouldn’t have seen her because he had his head down” when heading to his car after exiting a venue.

“You may have been a fan of the defendant’s, you may have barely heard of him,” Agnew said as her speech drew to a close. “But all of that essentially falls away.”

“It’s about power and taking advantage of that power,” she said, adding the defense’s arguments were “fragile” and a “house of straw.”

Spacey, she concluded, was guilty of “aggressive, oppressive and intimidatory behaviour” that had finally been called out.

The actor is facing nine counts of sexual assault against four men. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges. The actor was originally contesting 12 counts but three were withdrawn on Wednesday morning. Judge Wall told the jury not to make any inferences from that fact.

On Thursday Spacey’s barrister will deliver his closing statement before the jury is asked to retire and reach a verdict.

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