Kevin Spacey’s attorney asks why accuser told Buzzfeed sexual assault story ‘known for lists and quizzes’

Three notorious sex offenders, Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, That 70’s show Actor Danny Masterson and house of cards Star Kevin Spacey, are currently in labor long-awaited exams. Cross-examination of Spacey’s accuser began this week, and as you might expect, Spacey’s lawyers did their best to discredit him — including asking why he came forward Buzzfeed with its allegations instead of a more reputable outlet like that New York Times.

For context, actor Anthony Rapp is suing Spacey for psychological damage he suffered from an incident at a house party in New York City in 1986. Rapp claims he was groped by a 26-year-old Spacey when he was just 14. After emotional last week Transcript von Rapp, Spacey invited the teenager to a party at his house when they were both appearing in respective Broadway shows. Arriving at the party, Rapp said he felt uncomfortable because he was very young and didn’t know anyone, so he went to a room to watch TV by himself. Then Spacey, who was said to be “restless on his feet” and visibly drunk, came and found him, grabbed his butt and lifted him onto the bed. Rapp says he was forced to “squirm out” when Spacey “pinned” him under his body and tried to have sex with him. Rapp did not speak publicly about the alleged incident until a BuzzFeed Story 2017.

This week for five hours grueling cross-examination by Spacey’s team – Rapp’s explanation for why he finally came forward after three decades reportedly didn’t sit well with Spacey’s attorneys: “I came forward because I knew I wasn’t the only person Kevin Spacey made advances to,” said Spacey rap The statement acc diversityHe quickly received objections from the lawyers. Rapp, they argued, disclosed this actress to the press Lupita Nyong’os 2017 New York Times Essay on Weinstein inspired him to talk about Spacey, Not because he had heard similar stories about their client. diversity reported that the timestamps on the text messages between Rapp and reporter Adam B. Vary, who wrote the BuzzFeed post, predate Nyong’o’s post. Her story, Rapp said, “validated and cemented” his decision to speak out.

Lawyers then questioned Rapp as to why he never told his mother, with whom he was living at the time of the alleged attack, about the incident. Understandably, he noted that given that he was a teenager, he and his mother didn’t often talk about sexual encounters — consensual and otherwise. “We never talked about sex at all,” Rapp said in court. “I didn’t want to upset them and I didn’t want to lose my independence.” Rapp, then an aspiring child actor, lived with his mother in an apartment on the Upper East Side and was often allowed to attend nightly industry parties and events around town. “I lived a [more] unusual life than most 14-year-olds.”

Lawyers also relied on Rapp to explain why he never told his therapist about what he called the “most traumatic single event” of his life. “It didn’t occur to me in any aspect of what I was talking about,” he replied.

Especially after the allegations were made public in 2017, even Spacey himself wrote on Twitter that he “did not remember” the alleged assault but apologized: “But if I acted as he describes at the time, I owe him the most sincere apologies for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior.” “

“You wanted to promote the show, increase your visibility,” Jennifer Keller, one of Spacey’s attorneys, accused Rapp as she theorized about his decision to speak to the press before mentioning the incident to a therapist. “You were on the news star trek streaming show, but it wasn’t clear it would be renewed for a second season in 2017.”

Keller’s questions then got even more nitpicking when she asked why Rapp didn’t share his story with a source of #MeToo reporting like that Times. “Isn’t Buzzfeed known for lists and quizzes about celebrities?” she asked Rapp. (Note that Buzzfeed won a Pulitzer for a series exposing China’s mass imprisonment of Muslims.)

To sow further doubts, Keller suggested that Rapp’s memory of the events had been marred by a theatrical role and that he might have mixed fiction with fact. Rapp admitted in his 2006 memoir that he used dialogue from the play, precious sons, in everyday interactions. A second attorney for Spacey ended the cross-examination by asking whether or not Rapp fabricated any of the alleged Spacey attacks. “I haven’t,” he testified. “It’s something that happened to me that wasn’t okay.” The process should be completed next week.

It must be emphasized that in addition to Rapp’s case, Spacey is also currently facing it Charged with sexually assaulting three men over a decade ago in London. He pleaded not guilty and is due to go to court there next year. Four more men have accused Spacey of sexual misconduct, but the charges were either dropped or not pursued.

While the use of victim-blame tactics is an integral part of defense attorney strategy, be its Attorney for R. Kelly’s comparison of survivors with “groupies‘ or even Camille Vasquez’s layered slur against Amber Heard after the process is complete, this practice all too often liberates and legitimizes harmful stereotypes and prejudices held against survivors everywhere. And as a survivor of sexual violence, keenly aware that the often ridiculous lines from high-profile lawyers hurled at survivors who speak up reflect a suspicion shared by dozens of Americans, it never gets easier, survivors with far greater privileges than I attest – and countless others – become scapegoats.