Kevin Spacey’s sexual orientation has long been an open secret in Hollywood. He’s not married (nor has been); took his mom to the Oscars; has been at the center of a questionable late-night encounter in Hyde Park; and as of last night, accused of sexual misconduct by Anthony Rapp. (And personally, I have known for more than 20 years that Spacey was gay from personal knowledge. But that’s another story.) Still, Spacey has long put a cone of silence on his personal life, which he pointedly has never discussed publicly.
That changed last night. Spacey tweeted a length apology to Rapp, while at the same time coming out of the closet to “live as a gay man.”
“The [Rapp] story has encouraged me to address other things about my life,” he said in a statement, following his apology to Rapp. “[I]n my life I have had relationships with both men and women. I have loved and had romantic encounters with me throughout my life, and I choose now to live as a gay man I want to deal with this honestly and openly and that starts with examining my own behavior.”
Many attacked Spacey for tying the misconduct allegation to coming out. For my part, I can’t imagine a better time to come out than when someone has talked about your private sexual conduct; indeed, I can’t imagine a better time to come out than any time. But what do you think?
— Arnold Wayne Jones
