- Kevin Spacey says he felt "attacked" by the LGBTQ+ community before coming out.
- The actor claims Hollywood "threatened" him over his sexuality.
- Spacey says he had planned to come out before the allegations surfaced.
- He discussed his experience during Bill Maher's Club Random podcast.
- Spacey reflected on how the allegations reshaped his career and public image.
Kevin Spacey is once again speaking about one of the most controversial periods of his life and career. During a recent appearance on Bill Maher's Club Random podcast, the Oscar-winning actor opened up about coming out as gay, saying he felt pressure from Hollywood and criticism from the LGBTQ+ community long before his public announcement in 2017.
Spacey publicly came out as gay after actor Anthony Rapp accused him of making a sexual advance toward him when Rapp was 14 years old. In the statement he shared at the time, Spacey apologized for what he described as "inappropriate drunken behaviour" while also revealing his sexuality.
Looking back on that period, Spacey said rumors about his personal life had circulated in Hollywood for years. "There were so many stories about me. There was lots of talk that I was gay and I just wasn’t out and rather than the gay community understanding that… I always felt that I was being attacked."
The actor also disputed the widely held belief that he came out only because of the allegations. According to Spacey, he had already planned to publicly acknowledge his sexuality years earlier. He explained that the process of coming out was much more complicated than many people realized. "People within the gay community made jokes about me as if being famous and coming out was an easy thing."
Spacey has previously said that he felt significant pressure from Hollywood regarding his private life, arguing that revealing his sexuality while at the height of his career carried professional risks.
His career changed dramatically after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct emerged in 2017. He was removed from Netflix's House of Cards, replaced in Ridley Scott's All the Money in the World, and saw several planned projects canceled.
The fallout extended beyond acting roles. That same year, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences declined to honor him with a planned special Emmy Award amid the growing controversy.
During the podcast, Bill Maher referred to the years of public backlash as Spacey's "10-year sentence."
Reflecting on where he stands today, Spacey responded: "I feel less in jail than I did. When people actually start to hear the facts, understand what we won in courts, I think people now look at this and think, ‘Maybe nine years has been enough.’"
In recent years, Spacey has been acquitted in several high-profile legal cases, including a civil lawsuit brought by Anthony Rapp and a separate criminal trial in the United Kingdom. Despite those courtroom victories, the actor's return to mainstream Hollywood has remained limited.
His latest comments have reignited discussion about the challenges of coming out in the entertainment industry, the impact of public allegations, and whether Spacey's career can recover after nearly a decade of controversy.
