Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey has denied new allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior against men, ahead of the release next week of a UK television documentary featuring their claims. Two-time Oscar winner Spacey, 64, who has been cleared of sexual assault in trials in the United States and Britain, told UK journalist Dan Wootton in an interview posted on social media that he would “no longer be speechless”. A two-part documentary, “Spacey Unmasked”, is to be aired in the UK on Monday and Tuesday.

In it, 10 men not involved in the UK court case involving Spacey accuse him of behaving inappropriately towards them. The alleged incidents took place between 1976 and 2013 and “relate to what they describe as unwanted sexual behavior”, Spacey revealed in the interview, citing an email he received from the documentary-makers. One of the alleged victims to feature in it, former actor Ruari Cannon, detailed his claims Saturday in Britain’s i newspaper, accusing Spacey of touching him inappropriately in 2013 when he was aged 21.

But in his interview, the US actor denied illegal wrongdoing. “I take full responsibility for my past behavior and my actions, but I cannot and will not take responsibility or apologize to anyone who’s made up stuff about me or exaggerated stories about me,” he told Wootton. “I’ve never told someone that if they give me sexual favors, then I will help them out with their career, never.” He added: “I’ve clearly hooked up with some men who thought they might get ahead in their careers by having a relationship with me.

“But there was no conversation with me, it was all part of their plan, a plan that was always destined to fail, because I wasn’t in on the deal.” Wootton this year quit TV channel GB News, which has drawn comparisons with US network Fox News for its right-wing populist agenda, and now broadcasts online, where he posted the interview.

Spacey’s once-stellar career has been halted by the various allegations of sexual offences, which first emerged in 2017 as part of the nascent #MeToo movement and which he has always denied. A UK jury last year acquitted him of nine alleged sex offences, which followed a New York court in 2022 dismissing a $40 million civil sexual misconduct lawsuit brought against him. Spacey told Wootton he has struggled to get work after the criminal proceedings ended, describing his experience as a “life sentence”. — AFP