Kevin Spacey 'Always' Felt Like He Was Being 'Attacked' by the Gay Community While in the Closet

Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey told Bill Maher on his “Club Random” podcast that he "always felt" like he "was being attacked" by the gay community during his years in the closet, rather than feeling embraced.

Spacey explained that because he was fiercely closeted, there were constant rumors and public jokes regarding his sexuality.

Instead of the gay community understanding his need for privacy, Spacey felt they targeted him for not being out.

"There [were] so many stories about me. There was lots of talk about 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 House of Cards actor recalled.

While Maher said he believed Spacey was forced to come out due to his 2017 legal scandals, Spacey claimed he had actually been ready to come out two years before those allegations surfaced.

Spacey officially came out as gay in October 2017. However, he did so in a public statement answering sexual misconduct allegations made by Broadway actor Anthony Rapp.

The timing drew heavy criticism from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, like GLAAD, and the public, who accused Spacey of using his sexuality as a shield to deflect from accusations of predatory behavior.

Spacey was found not liable in a 2022 New York civil lawsuit filed by Rapp and was acquitted of criminal sexual assault charges by a London jury in 2023.

"I hit on a lot of guys. There are certain cases where part of something is true, but it's been rethought, it's been redesigned, or it's been entirely made up, certainly in the case of Anthony Rapp, which is a case that we won in federal court in New York,” Spacey noted.

The actor equated the fallout from that case with his career nose-diving, as a sentence in its own right.

"A 10-year sentence is a serious sentence,” he admitted, adding that he is freer now as people begin to hear his side of the story.

"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,” he said. "I feel much more welcomed, and I think that things are moving in the direction that we hoped they were moving in."

Spacey, who has won several of the entertainment industry's most prestigious honors, including two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a BAFTA Award, has turned to low-budget and international productions, starring in the British indie thriller The Awakening and the Italian comedy series Minimarket.

To generate income, Spacey has been doing cabaret-style live performances featuring singing and storytelling, including a one-night-only show in Cyprus.