Jury begins deliberation in Kevin Spacey’s civil trial | CNN

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Closing arguments based on allegations by actor Anthony Rapp are underway in the civil lawsuit for sexual misconduct against Kevin Spacey.

Rapp, best known for his role on Star Trek: Discovery, claims that Spacey, then 26, invited Rapp, then 14, to his Manhattan home in 1986, where he picked Rapp up and laid him on his bed and grabbed his butt and forced his groin into Rapp’s body without his consent.

He is suing Spacey for battery.

Judge Lewis Kaplan dismissed Rapp’s assault claim before the trial began and dismissed his willful infliction of emotional distress claim after Rapp’s attorneys dropped his case, leaving the jury to rule only on the battery claim. Under New York law, a battery touches another person in a way that a reasonable person would find objectionable without their consent.

In his closing arguments, Rapp’s attorney, Richard Steigman, suggested that Spacey twist his testimony in court to suit his defense, noting Spacey’s 2017 apology to Rapp when he first came forward.

“Don’t listen to what I said in real time. I am now defending a lawsuit. listen to me now I fixed it,” Steigman said, mocking Spacey’s attempt to convince the jury that he was being coerced by publicists into making the statement he testified he now regrets.

Steigman called Spacey’s testimony rehearsed compared to his client’s raw testimony.

“If you’re rehearsed and you’re a world-class actor and you’re following the script and you’re following someone else’s statements, you can take that stand and be polished to perfection,” Steigman said. “If you’re just going to court and telling the truth about your experience, it’s a bit complicated, especially one like this.”

Steigman also dismissed the defense’s argument that Rapp wanted Spacey out as gay.

“The point of the story isn’t that Kevin Spacey is gay. He sexually abused him when he was 14. He shares that with people, he shares his experiences – no more and no less. Where’s the evidence that he told some media outlet Kevin Spacey is gay you should really run with it?

Spacey’s attorney, Jennifer Keller, began her closing argument by addressing the me-too movement shadow on the case, noting that Rapp “hitched his car to the movement” when he came forward.

“It’s not a team sport where you’re either on the me-too side or the other side,” Keller told the jury. “It’s a completely different place. Our system requires proof, evidence and objective support for allegations presented to an impartial jury. As polarized as society is today, it really shouldn’t have a place here.”

Keller suggested that Rapp copied his allegations against Spacey from an almost identical scene from the Broadway show Precious Sons in which Rapp was appearing in 1986 at the time of the alleged Ed Harris incident.

“We’re here because Mr. Rapp falsely claimed abuse that never happened at a party, that never happened in a room that didn’t exist,” she said.

Spacey’s attorney concluded her remarks by asking the jury not to compromise her verdict by finding Spacey liable for personal injury, instead awarding Rapp only a single dollar in damages.

“You are here to assess the facts. did it happen It did not happen. A dime is too much for something that didn’t happen. And for Mr. Spacey, it’s not about the money. Mr. Spacey’s day is about the truth and he has been falsely accused,” Keller said.

The jury in the case began deliberations on Thursday afternoon.