Correction: Kevin Spacey will no longer touch the lives of British kids who want to go into acting. Also, he will no longer have a convenient excuse to be alone in a room with them.
For the past 10 years Kevin Spacey has run his own charity, which is humbly titled the Kevin Spacey Foundation. He started it to provide scholarships and (ahem) mentorships for young acting (ahem) talent. But since then, Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp has accused Spacey of trying to molest him when he was 14, and Spacey has admitted it (while announcing he chooses to live his life as a gay man), and Hollywood has slammed the door in his face. By all appearances, Spacey’s career has been completely destroyed. He was even erased from Ridley Scott’s latest film, All the Money in the World, being replaced by Christopher Plummer just weeks before the movie was released. Plummer is nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, presumably to thank him for helping the entertainment industry sweep Spacey under the rug so quickly and efficiently.
If you’ve been wondering what’s next for the Kevin Spacey Foundation, here’s what you see now when you go to kevinspaceyfoundation.org:
The Trustees have reached the conclusion that the work of the Kevin Spacey Foundation UK is no longer viable and as such the Foundation will be closing on the 28 February 2018.
The Trustees would like to thank all their partners, artists and organisations for the great work that has been done in association with the Foundation.
The Trustees hope that the objects of the charity will be taken forward by other organisations.
Never before has the phrase “Good work, if you can get it” made me shudder so much.
And that statement is all you’ll find on the site. As Elizabeth Harrington at the Washington Free Beacon notes, the site has been scoured clean of any other information about the charity. Including some photos that are uncomfortable in retrospect:
“The work … is no longer viable” https://t.co/L7AL5afjLO pic.twitter.com/pm3M5dGatP
— Elizabeth Harrington (@LizWFB) February 27, 2018
Gather ’round, kids…
Suddenly, nobody involved with the Kevin Spacey Foundation wants you to know that they had anything to do with it. Wonder why?
Actor Joel Kinnaman was Spacey’s co-star on House of Cards for a couple of seasons, and a few weeks ago he spoke frankly about it on the Norwegian-Swedish talk show Skavlan. He didn’t seem surprised at all that Spacey is a huge pervert. He gave the interview in his native Swedish*, so make sure the closed captions are turned on:
“It wasn’t a big shock… I have five or six friends I know who have told stories about Kevin, about when they were young and had just arrived in Hollywood. And he tried to… He gave me a very warm welcome in Baltimore. But later, when you learned that he had supposedly behaved this way with 14-year-olds, then it’s like… thank you and goodbye.”
I assume that translation is correct, anyway. It’s all Swedish to me. But it’s interesting that Kinnaman hints at Spacey making a move on him. Sure, it’s one thing when it’s two consenting adults, both of whom have established careers (and one of whom could easily overpower the other physically). But how many younger actors have gotten the Spacey treatment as well? How many of them were too scared to speak out because he could ruin their lives?
I admire Anthony Rapp for speaking out when he did. Star Trek: Discovery had just premiered, and he took a career risk by breaking 30 years of silence. He now says he was trying to protect people, and I think he did. If he’d kept it to himself, Spacey might still be up to the same old tricks right now. Under the guise of “charity.”
How many other Kevin Spaceys are running around out there? How many Harvey Weinsteins? How many Bill Cosbys? How many Woody Allens? The #MeToo furor has died down, but I have a feeling we haven’t seen the end of it.
A lot of powerful people aren’t getting much sleep these days. I’m glad they’re staying #woke.
*After watching that interview, I think I understand why I was so underwhelmed by Kinnaman’s performance on Altered Carbon. He’s much more charming and personable when he’s not struggling to maintain a foreign accent.
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