After Kevin Spacey verdict, accuser Anthony Rapp vows to ‘fight for accountability’
This story has been updated to reflect that a spokesperson for the State Department told NPR that the department received a notification “yesterday” of the announcement of the findings.
After the verdict for actor Kevin Spacey was announced on Saturday, Anthony Rapp said he was looking forward to moving on with his life.
“I am grateful that it’s all over. I look forward to being able to start a new chapter in my life,” Rapp, who is gay, said in a statement Sunday.
He added, “As a sexual assault victim, there is no greater gift, no greater lesson, no greater lesson in the world than to be believed, to be believed and to have the courage to be heard.”
Rapp will pursue a lawsuit against Spacey, as well as his former employer, New York City, his employer’s lawyers confirmed Sunday.
It is not known whether Spacey was aware that he was the target of years of abuse allegations from Rapp.
On Saturday, Rapp told BuzzFeed that he was walking in a park in Harlem when Spacey, an adult-film star, cornered him and groped him after a performance.
Rapp said he did not immediately tell anyone what had happened when Spacey repeatedly tried to touch him.
When he finally did speak up, he said he told his then-fiancée, Jessica, who corroborated his account.
His allegation against Spacey was confirmed by Rapp’s friends, family and co-stars.
The two men had met in high school.
“They were friends at one point, but he was a different person when we met him,” said John Travolta, who played Rapp in the film “All the Money in the World.”
Rapp said he did not report the incident immediately.
“I was still in the process of deciding whether or not to come forward with it,” he said on a podcast
