Kevin Spacey says while the #MeToo movement has been “tremendously important,” the pendulum has “swung very, very far in the direction of unfairness.”
“I think, first of all, we live in a country that embraces and believes in due process, and believes in the rule of law and fairness,” the former “House of Cards” actor said Thursday on NewsNation’s “Cuomo.”
“I think that we have to be cautious and look back and say, look, there was some tremendously important, and valuable things, and an impact that happened with the #MeToo movement — that it was time and it was right,” Spacey, 64, told host Chris Cuomo on the cable network, which, like The Hill, is owned by Nexstar Media Group.
“However, as these sort of pendulums swing from one side to the other, as you well know, I think it swung very, very far in the direction of unfairness … and I’m not just talking about myself, but a whole lot of people,” Spacey said.
“But we also have to be careful to make sure that the pendulum now doesn’t swing so far in the other direction — even though I and a lot of people believe it’s moving in the right direction — because we have to be conscious that the #MeToo movement was an important one and a valiant one,” he added.
Spacey’s appearance on Cuomo’s show marked the Academy Award winner’s first TV interview in several years. In 2017, he was fired from “House of Cards” following accusations that he sexually harassed members of the Netflix show’s crew.
Last July, Spacey was acquitted of sexual assault charges by a jury in London. The case was based on allegations from four men dating back two decades. In 2022, a New York jury found Spacey not liable for battery in a civil lawsuit brought against him by Anthony Rapp, who accused Spacey of making a sexual advance on him in the 1980s.
Spacey said Thursday, “Whatever mistakes I’ve made in my life, whatever choices I made that weren’t the best, I’ve paid a price. It’s been seven years.”
“I accept my accountability. I think it’s incredibly important. I am not going to be accountable for things I didn’t do, or were exaggerated, or were greatly changed — but I absolutely believe my role in it was my role in it,” he said.
“I’m trying to show that I’ve listened, I’ve learned, I’ve got the memo,” Spacey said. “I’m not going to behave in any way in the future that is questionable, and that I’ve tried to spend these past seven years going into myself, asking a lot of questions, listening, having conversations with people that I felt I owed amends to. And that at a certain point, I just want to get back to work.”
The #MeToo movement gained worldwide recognition in 2017 after sexual misconduct accusations against film producer Harvey Weinstein were detailed in New York Times and New Yorker exposés, triggering a flood of public allegations of wrongdoing against many powerful figures in the entertainment industry.