People Are Looking at ‘American Beauty’ in a Different Light After the Kevin Spacey Allegations

In the aftermath of accusations made by Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp that Kevin Spacey made sexual advances toward him when he was 14, people are beginning to reassess their viewpoint of Spacey’s American Beauty, Buzzfeed reported.

The 1999 film follows the story of Lester Burnham, portrayed by Spacey. In the midst of a midlife crisis, Burnham becomes obsessed with his teenage daughter’s best friend, Angela Hayes, after seeing her perform a half-time dance routine at a high school basketball game. Burnham quickly becomes infatuated with her and begins to have sexual fantasies about her. Spacey’s portrayal of Lester Burnham won him Best Actor at the 72nd Academy Awards.

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People on social media were quick to note the similarities between Spacey and his character, some stating that with the knowledge of the recent allegations made against Spacey, they will no longer be able to watch American Beauty.

On Sunday, Spacey took to Twitter to publicly address the allegations against him.

“I have a lot of respect and admiration for Anthony Rapp as an actor. I’m beyond horrified to hear his story,” he stated. “I honestly do not remember the encounter, it would have been over 30 years ago. But if I did behave as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior, and I am sorry for the feelings he describes having carried with him all these years.”

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In light of the accusations, Netflix announced that the sixth season of House of Cards would be its last, although spinoffs are reportedly still in the works. Spacey has also received criticism from LGBTQ celebrities, who feel that it was inappropriate for Spacey to come out as gay in the same apology letter that he wrote.