Kevin Spacey Photographed Smiling, Wearing 'Retired Since 2017' Hat After Sexual Assault Charge
Just two days after Kevin Spacey was photographed publicly for the first time since November 2017, the disgraced actor was spotted again in Baltimore.
Spacey, 59 — who was charged with felony sexual assault from an alleged 2016 incident in a Massachusetts bar involving an 18-year-old bus boy earlier this week — was seen smiling while holding a pizza box.
In photographs published by the Daily Mail, Spacey wore a blue coat and black pants that he paired with a bizarre hat that read “Retired since 2017.” The accessory appeared to be a reference to his career, which has faltered amid claims he made unwanted sexual advances toward young male actors.
Related Video: Police Have Video of Spacey Allegedly Groping Teen
In October of last year, actor Anthony Rapp was the first to come forward with allegations against the disgraced actor, accusing Spacey of making inappropriate sexual advances toward him when Rapp was 14 and Spacey was 26.
Spacey, 58, issued a statement saying he didn’t remember the alleged incident, apologizing “for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior,” and announcing, “I choose now to live as a gay man.” Almost immediately, high-profile LBGTQ actors like Wanda Sykes and Billy Eichner criticized the statement, with GLAAD cautioning that Spacey coming out should not “deflect” from Rapp’s allegation.
“I have a lot of respect and admiration for Anthony Rapp as an actor. I’m beyond horrified to hear his story,” Spacey said in a statement posted on his Twitter account. “I honestly do not remember the encounter, it would have been over 30 years ago. But if I did behave as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior, and I am sorry for the feelings he describes having carried with him all these years.”
“This story has encouraged me to address other things about my life,” Spacey’s statement continued. “I know that there are stories out there about me and that some have been fueled by the fact that I have been so protective of my privacy. As those closes to me know, in my life, I have had relationships with both men and women. I have loved and had romantic relationships with men throughout my life, and I choose now to live as a gay man. I want to deal with this honestly and openly and that starts with examining my own behavior.”
As more alleged victims came forward, in November, a representative for the actor shared that Spacey had decided to seek “evaluation and treatment.”
RELATED: Kevin Spacey Seen in Public for First Time in Over a Year After Being Charged with Sexual Assault
Following the allegations, Spacey’s character was killed off the Netflix series House of Cards, and the actor was also replaced by Christopher Plummer in the film All the Money in the World.
One film starring the actor has been released since his sexual assault scandal, but the movie — Billionaire Boys’ Club — was a tremendous flop, earning just $126 on opening day, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
RELATED VIDEO: Robin Wright on Kevin Spacey’s Sexual Assault Allegations: ‘We Never Socialized Outside of Work’
On Monday, the same day that Spacey was charged with felony sexual assault, the actor released a video on his social media accounts, in which he seemed to be channeling his deceased House of Cards character, Frank Underwood.
“Some believed everything and have just been waiting with bated breath to hear me confess it all,” Spacey said in the video. “They’re just dying to have me declare that everything said is true and that I got what I deserved.”
“Wouldn’t that be easy if it was all so simple?” he continued. “Only you and I both know it’s never that simple, not in politics and not in life. … If I didn’t pay the price for the things we both know I did do, I’m certainly not going to pay the price for the things I didn’t do.”
RELATED: Kevin Spacey Pushes Back on Sex Assault Allegation in Court: Teen Accuser Didn’t Try to Leave
According to a criminal complaint obtained by PEOPLE, Spacey will be arraigned on Jan. 7 in Nantucket District Court on a charge of indecent assault and battery.
The charge comes more than a year after former Boston TV news anchor Heather Unruh publicly accused Spacey of assaulting her then 18-year-old son at a bar in July 2016.
In police reports obtained by PEOPLE, Spacey’s accuser, now 20, told authorities that he was “texting and snapchatting” while Spacey reached down his pants and repeatedly touched his genitals over the course of three minutes while they were together at a Nantucket bar, where the accuser worked as a bus boy.
The accuser said he initially lied to Spacey by saying he was a 23-year-old college student and also told investigators that he was the one who approached Spacey, wanting a photo and proceeded to drink heavily before the alleged assault took place some time after midnight, reports in the case show.
He went on to say Spacey’s alleged touching went on for about three minutes and that he tried to move away and moved Spacey’s hands away, to no avail, the report states. He said that he left when Spacey went to the bathroom.
At a probable cause hearing in Nantucket County Court on Dec. 20, Spacey’s attorney highlighted the purported incongruities in the accuser’s story and went as far as to act out the alleged abuse, according to audio of the hearing, which was first published by the Boston Globe.
Spacey has hired L.A.-based lawyer Alan Jackson to represent him.
