Back in October, of 2017, right around the time the #MeToo movement was particularly at a peak, the world got not one, but two pieces of shocking news about beloved House Of Cards and American Beauty actor, Kevin Spacey. Star Trek: Discovery actor, Anthony Rapp, revealed that he had a scarring experience with Spacey when he was just 14 years old. A drunk Spacey had tried to inappropriately "seduce" the minor while they were alone in a bedroom, something the young star said he carried with him for the rest of his life. Spacey took to Twitter, to give a (pretty half-assed IMO) apology, but also took the time to reveal to everyone he was, in fact, "living as a gay man." The whole controversy triggered quite the shit storm, with crew members coming forward one month later to reveal that Spacey had also been inappropriate with them on numerous occasions, as well as other claims and accusations.
Nicole Harnishfeger-Pool/Getty Images
These separate occurrences all quickly lead to the demise of Spacey's career, and on top of that, a court case for the disgraced actor, which kicked off in January of this year. If found guilty on counts of sexual assault, Spacey was looking at a potential 5-year sentencing. However, after the trial commenced, charges were dropped due to the accuser (who was 18 at the time of his claim) - who had alleged that Spacey had groped him when he worked as a waiter - plead The Fifth Amendment when asked if he had tampered with any of the screenshots he gave the court of sexually explicit photos of Spacey. After the man - who is now 24 years of age - pleaded the Fifth, the district attorney filed a motion to drop the case against Spacey, citing "the unavailability of the complaining witness." His family were "very disappointed" about the prosecutors' decision, but CBS News legal analyst Rikki Klieman assured them that prosecutors' decision to drop the charge "in no way" meant that the actor was now in the clear. "The fact that the prosecution… has decided not to go forward in no way says that Kevin Spacey… has been exonerated," Klieman added. "The prosecution was simply faced with a case that by virtue of the alleged victim… taking the Fifth Amendment, they didn't have a witness to say what happened." Spacey is reportedly also still facing sexual assault allegations in Great Britain.