Anthony Rapp Says He Would Speak with Kevin Spacey About Abuse

Anthony Rapp came forward with his story of being sexually assaulted a year ago. Rapp alleged that in 1986 Kevin Spacey, then 26, made unwanted sexual advances toward him when he was 14 years old.

One year later, Rapp reflected to BuzzFeed News, saying "I was really reckoning with, 'What can I stand? I'm aware I'm taking on someone who's beloved, and how much can I stand?' And I was ready for it."

The Rent star recounts the encounter as, "He picked me up like a groom picks up the bride over the threshold. But I don't, like, squirm away initially, because I'm like, 'What's going on?' And then he lays down on top of me. He was trying to seduce me. I don't know if I would have used that language. But I was aware that he was trying to get with me sexually." Rapp was eventually able to squrim away and leave before anything else happened.

In the years since the incident, Rapp has only discussed it with close friends, but it has haunted him as Spacey's career blossomed. He tells BuzzFeed that he interacted with Spacey one other time at the 1999 Tony Awards, where Rapp was performing with You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown and Spacey was nominated. No words were spoken as the two passed by each other.

After the stories that have been brought up against Harvey Weinstein, Rapp felt it was time he finally come forward, saying "In 1986, these things weren't talked about very openly very much, except for maybe in an after-school-special kind of way. There's so much more openness about talking about these issues, and so many people are coming forward and sharing their stories. The oxygen in THE ROOM is there for us to really do something about it."

"We all felt like nothing could ever touch these people," Rapp explained. "Nothing could ever impact their behavior, because we were powerless. It really felt that way. You couldn't even think about any other way. It was not available to us."

After Rapp came forward with his story, eight employees of Spacey's Netflix show House of Cards accused Spacey of sexual misconduct, which prompted Netflix to shut down production of the series. When Spacey's alleged ongoing behavior over the past three decades came out in the open, Rapp called it "cathartic" but "really upsetting."

"Part of the story I'd been telling myself was, 'Well, he was only doing this to older people, so [what I experienced] was an aberration,'" he told BuzzFeed. "Which wasn't true."

After the allegations came out, Spacey was quickly replaced by Christopher Plummer in the completed film All the Money in the World. "That was really meaningful," Rapp said of director Ridley Scott's decision. "He was absolutely unequivocal."

Rapp said he would be open to sitting down with Spacey if he requested it.

In the interview with BuzzFeed, Rap said, "'Somebody asked me a while ago, if he did want to talk to me, would I, and I think I would. I guess I'd have to really think about the circumstances and the environment and the safety factor.' He paused. 'I mean, potentially. I wouldn't rule that out. I would need him to fully own what he did. Not just to me, but to so many people.'"

Read the original article on BuzzFeed News.