Disgraced actor Kevin Spacey described his “painful” journey and whined about how his life changed “in just a matter of hours” after he was accused of a series of sexual assaults, according to a report.
“I don’t think it will come as a surprise for anyone to say that my world completely changed in the fall of 2017,” the 60-year-old said in a recent interview for the “Bits & Pretzels” podcast, according to the Daily Mail.
“My job, many of my relationships, my standing in my own industry were all gone in just a matter of hours,” the Oscar winner added in his first comments after being accused by more than a dozen men of sexual misconduct.
Last July, sexual assault charges in Massachusetts involving an 18-year-old man were dropped.
The former “House of Cards” star, who was dropped after the allegations were made, said he could relate to people who have lost their jobs amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“I don’t often like to tell people that I can relate to their situation because I think it undermines the experience that they may be having, which is their own unique and very personal experience,” he said on the podcast.
“But in this instance, I feel as though I can relate to what it feels like to have your world suddenly stop.
“And so while we may have found ourselves in similar situations, albeit for very different reasons and circumstances, I still believe that some of the emotional struggles are very much the same.
“And so I do have empathy for what it feels like to suddenly be told that you can’t go back to work or that you might lose your job and that it’s a situation that you have absolutely no control over.”
In October, Spacey settled a sexual assault lawsuit filed against him by an anonymous massage therapist who died earlier in 2019.
Terms of the settlement with the son of the accuser were not revealed.
The masseuse filed his lawsuit as a John Doe alleging that Spacey attacked him more than three years ago during a massage session in Malibu.
The “American Beauty” actor was accused of trying to fondle the accuser’s genitals and trying to kiss him.
One of Spacey’s other accusers was Ari Behn, the ex-husband of Norway’s Princess Martha Louise, who alleged that the actor groped him under a table in 2007.
Behn committed suicide on Christmas Day.
At the end of the podcast interview, Spacey said: “I was so busy defining myself by what I did or what I was trying to do, that when it all stopped, I had no idea what to do next.
“I don’t want to sugarcoat this devastating time that we’re in, I am hoping that I can encourage you to see an opportunity in all of this and turn this into a positive,” he added.
