The fallout from Kevin Spacey‘s sexual harassment claims continues with employees from his Netflix series now alleging the 58-year-old actor made the set a “toxic” environment, with one accusing him of sexual assault.
CNN reports that the former production assistant, whose account was never previously been disclosed, alleges Spacey sexually assaulted him during one of the show’s early seasons.
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The assistant told the news agency that Spacey sexually assaulted him one afternoon when he were assigned to drive to an offsite location to pick up the actor and bring him to set. It was then that Spacey, who was driving, placed his hands on the assistant, telling CNN it was nonconsensual.
“I was in a state of shock,” he said. “He was a man in a very powerful position on the show and I was someone very low on the totem pole and on the food chain there.”
After arriving on set, the assistant says he helped Spacey’s belongings to the trailer on set and while they were in the trailer, the actor had cornered him, blocking his exit and making inappropriate contact.
“I told him, ‘I don’t think I’m ok with this, I don’t think I’m comfortable with this,’” the production assistant said.
That is when the actor became “visibly flustered” and fled the trailer, leaving for the remainder of the day, according to the production assistant.
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The production assistant tells CNN that he did not report the incident to any managers of the series or the police, but he did tell a coworker at the time, which CNN verified.
The eight employees who spoke to CNN on the condition of anonymity for fear of “professional repercussions for speaking out,” described Spacey’s behavior as “predatory.”
They went on to say that his behavior included “nonconsensual touching and crude comments.” He also targeted production staffers who were typically young and male.
After telling a supervisor, the crew decided the solution would be to not let the production assistant be alone with Spacey.
“I have no doubt that this type of predatory behavior was routine for him and that my experience was one of many and that Kevin had few if any qualms about exploiting his status and position,” the assistant said. “It was a toxic environment for young men who had to interact with him at all in the crew, cast, background actors.”
Another crew member opened up to CNN, telling the agency that Spacey routinely harassed and touched him over the course of the series’ six seasons, adding that the fear was the worst part about the whole thing.
“He would put his hands on me in weird ways,” the crew member said. “He would come in and massage my shoulders from behind or put his hands around me or touch my stomach sometimes in weird ways that in normal everyday conversation would not be appropriate.”
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The other people who worked on House of Cards with whom CNN spoke all supported the idea that the set could be toxic for young men because of Spacey.
A former camera assistant, who said he witnessed Spacey’s behavior but never experienced it firsthand like the victims, said the touching largely occurred in an open space and that “everybody saw.”
“All the crew members commented on his behavior,” the former camera assistant said. “What gets me is we have to sign sexual harassment paperwork before the start of the show and apparently [Kevin Spacey] doesn’t have to do anything and he gets away scott-free with this behavior.”
A former female production assistant who worked on several seasons of the Netflix series says she witnessed Spacey’s sexual misconduct with crew members on set, revealing he was “inappropriate” and those she worked with complained about how “uncomfortable” they felt.
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“Kevin does this thing which was play fights with them in order to touch them,” she said.
She claims to have seen Spacey approach “multiple people” over the years to “say hello, greet them, shake their hand and pull their hand down to his crotch and touch their crotch. I have friends say he reached up their shorts on set.”
The accusations against Spacey come on the heels of an explosive article published last week in which actor Anthony Rapp said Spacey made sexual advances on him in 1985, when Rapp was only 14 years old.
Spacey took to Twitter on Monday to apologize, adding that he did not remember the encounter. On Wednesday, Spacey’s publicist said in a statement that the Netflix star is now seeking unspecified treatment following Rapp’s allegations.
