Kevin Spacey Takes the Stand and Calls Anthony Rapp's Sexual Assaults 'Not True' in Civil Trial

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Kevin Spacey took the stand on Monday to defend himself against actor Anthony Rapp's claims of sexual assault.

The former House of Cards star was the first witness for the defense, fielding questions from his own attorney Jay Barron. In his first response, the 63-year-old actor said the allegations "are not true," according to NPR.

Rapp alleged in a 2017 BuzzFeed report that in the 1980s Spacey had made a sexual advance on Rapp, who was then 14 years old, in the older actor's apartment.

Spacey said on Monday he had been "shocked" by Rapp's accusations, per Reuters. He insisted he "didn't know how this could possibly be true" that, as a then-26-year-old, he would have been interested in a teen sexually.

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Per Deadline, Spacey became emotional on the stand on Monday as he described how he was shaped by a "humiliating and terrifying" childhood with his father, Thomas Geoffrey Fowler, whom he called a "white supremacist and neo-Nazi."

Spacey added that he was "forced to listen to hours and hours and hours" of his father's lectures, which made him have a "hatred" of bigotry, according to NBC News.

"I have never talked about these things publicly. Ever," NBC News cited Spacey as saying.

Dia Dipasupil/Getty; Jason Merritt/Getty Anthony Rapp; Kevin Spacey

In response to Rapp's assertion that Spacey — who also used his denial of Rapp's accusation back in 2017 as occasion to publicly reveal he is gay — was a "fraud" for not revealing his sexuality sooner, Variety reported that Spacey countered: "To call someone a fraud is to say someone is living a lie. I wasn't living a lie. I was just reluctant to talk about my personal life."

"I certainly had a degree of shame," he said of his sexuality, per Variety, with NPR citing Spacey as claiming his father "used to yell at me at the idea that I might be gay."

On Monday, CNN reported Spacey acknowledged regretting his initially response to Rapp's claims: "I was being encouraged to apologize and I've learned a lesson which is never apologize for something you didn't do. I regret my entire statement."

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Earlier Monday, Spacey's legal team claimed a small victory when U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan dismissed one of Rapp's claims. The judge got rid of the claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress after Rapp's lawyers finished their presentation of evidence, the Associated Press reported.

A lawyer for Spacey — who has has denied the allegation, as well as several other sexual misconduct claims — argued for dismissal of the case, stating that Rapp's legal team had failed to prove his allegations. Judge Kaplan ultimately decided that parts of the claim echo Rapp's accusations that he was a victim of assault and battery and as such could not go forward, according to the Associated Press.

A legal representative for Rapp did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on the dismissal.

Steve Mack/WireImage

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Last week, defense attorney Jennifer Keller cross-examined Rapp about his account of his and Spacey's first meeting in 1986, which differed from the deposition of a friend who was present at the time, according to the Associated Press.

After taking the stand, Rapp recalled how when he was 14, Spacey allegedly asked him and his older friend to join him at a nightclub after the trio met backstage at Spacey's Broadway show. He testified that they left the nightclub and returned home without incident, per the AP.

Days after their first meeting, Rapp testified that he went to Spacey's home for a party. He said that once the pair was alone, Spacey allegedly "forced himself" on him "by pinning him down on a bed," according to the outlet. (Spacey has denied all allegations.)

But the unidentified friend — who was also a teen at the time — reportedly claimed in a deposition that they went to Spacey's home the first night they met, and Spacey attempted to entice Rapp into a sexual encounter.

According to the AP, Keller asked Rapp in court: "Considering the friend's deposition, 'You knew you had a problem with your story, correct?'" In response, Rapp said on the stand, "I don't dispute his story. I just don't remember it."

RELATED VIDEO: Kevin Spacey Pleads 'Not Guilty' to Sexual Assault Charges in London Court

Rapp also testified in court that he told a classmate about his sexual encounter with Spacey, alleging that he was watching television in a bedroom when Spacey "came in drunk, picked me up as a groom does a bride, and he climbed on top of me trying to get with me sexually and I managed to squirm away," per the AP.

During the cross-examination, the Rent actor clarified that Spacey never attempted to touch his genitals, remove his clothing or make any references to sex. He also denied having any sort of crush or obsession with Spacey.

Rapp did, however, recall feeling "stuck with a cattle prod" after going to see a movie starring Spacey in high school and testified that he ran into Spacey in the bathroom at the 1999 Tony Awards.

"As I was washing my hands, Kevin Spacey walked through the door. I looked at him and he looked at me. That was startling. ... I wanted very much to get away," Rapp said, per the AP.

Rapp fis seeking $40 million in compensatory and punitive damages for battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress, according to Reuters.

ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images Kevin Spacey arriving to court

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Following the BuzzFeed article, Spacey was fired from House of Cards and replaced in All the Money in the World. His final film — Billionaire Boys Club — grossed only $126 across 10 theaters on its opening day.

In the wake of the Rapp allegations, Spacey became subject to several other sexual misconduct cases, including a 2018 lawsuit involving the alleged rape of a young man.

In May, Spacey was charged with sexually assaulting three men in the U.K. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in July. He also pleaded not guilty to one charge of making a person engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.

Despite the allegations against him, director Franco Nero confirmed to Variety in May that he had cast Spacey as a police detective in L'uomo Che Disegnò Dio.

The actor was also set to appear in Peter Five Eight, but producers of the film confirmed in May that he dropped out upon being charged with the four counts of sexual assault. (He backed out of 1242: Gateway to the West as well.)

While Spacey's court date is underway in New York, his U.K. trial is set to begin some time next year.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.