London’s Old Vic theater says it has received 20 personal testimonies of alleged inappropriate behavior by Kevin Spacey, who was its artistic director between 2004 and 2015.
Those affected said they “felt unable to raise concerns”, and the double Oscar winner “operated without sufficient accountability”.
The theatre said it “truly apologizes” for not creating a culture where people felt able to speak freely.
The Old Vic’s announcement follows recent allegations of harassment and predatory behavior made against Kevin Spacey while at the theatre.
Kevin Spacey has not responded to them.
His behavior was alleged to have ranged from making people feel uncomfortable to inappropriate behavior, the Old Vic investigation found.
No-one alleged rape but three people told the Old Vic they had contacted the police, while 14 of the 20 complainants were told by the investigators that they should consider going to the police.
There were 20 individual allegations and 16 were former staff, all of whom were men.
According to Lewis Silkin – the external law firm engaged by the theatre to conduct the investigation – more than half the allegations were said to have taken place inside the Old Vic.
The investigation also found there was not widespread knowledge of Kevin Spacey’s alleged behavior within the organization, the law firm said.
With the exception of one of the claims, none of the reported incidents were raised formally or informally with management.
Kevin Spacey was invited to participate in the investigation but the Old Vic said he did not respond.
The investigation is continuing so more people can come forward.
Current artistic director Matthew Warchus said he had “genuine and deep sympathy for all those who have come forward”.
He added: “Everyone is entitled to work in an environment free from harassment and intimidation.
“The Old Vic is now actively engaged in the process of healing and the process of prevention.”
Matthew Warchus described the allegations as “a shock and a disturbing surprise to many of us”.
“It is incorrect, unfair and irresponsible to say that everybody knew.
“But as a result of the investigation, what we have learnt is how better to call out this behavior in future.”
He said the findings would help “our industry as a whole, as together we rapidly evolve an intelligent new standard of protection and support in and around the workplace”.
The Old Vic’s executive director Kate Varah added that they did not want to “just rush out a statement”, saying: “We have not slept since this came out because we have been doing it in a robust, careful way.”
Kevin Spacey said on November 2 he was seeking treatment, in the wake of the allegations. However, there is no information about what kind of treatment the actor is seeking.
Kevin Spacey is to be erased from completed movie All the Money in the World following many allegations of assault against him.
His role in movie is to be recast and his scenes reshot. The release is expected to go ahead as planned on December 22.
Kevin Spacey, who was late oil tycoon Jean Paul Getty in the movie, will be replaced by Christopher Plummer.
The claims against Kevin Spacey span from the mid-1980s to 2016.
All the Money in the World, directed by Ridley Scott, is about the 1973 kidnapping of Jean Paul Getty’s teenage grandson.
According Variety magazine, Kevin Spacey had shot about two weeks of footage and there were many scenes in the movie where he was the only actor on screen.
Kevin Spacey already appears in the movie’s trailer, which was released in September.
Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Williams, who also star in the movie, are expected to take part in the reshooting.
All the Money in the World has also been withdrawn from the American Film Institute’s (AFI) annual festival in Los Angeles later this month.
Valentina Violo, who plays a secretary in Ridley Scott’s movie, said she had met Kevin Spacey at a party held at the end of shooting this summer.
Kevin Spacey’s career has nosedived since the first allegation of advances were made by actor Anthony Rapp on October 30.
Netflix has axed further production of Kevin Spacey’s House of Cards drama and the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced it would no longer give the actor a special Emmy award, and his agent and publicist dropped him as a client.
Anthony Rapp accused Kevin Spacey of trying to seduce him when he was aged 14.
In response to Anthony Rapp’s claims, Kevin Spacey said he had no memory of the incident and offered an apology.
Since then several others have come forward accusing Kevin Spacey of predatory behavior, including Heather Unruh who said the actor had assaulted her 18-year-old son in 2016.
Kevin Spacey’s representatives say he is seeking unspecified treatment.
More men and women allege Kevin Spacey groped or made advances toward them.
The claims, spanning from the mid-1980s to 2016, raise further questions about Kevin Spacey’s conduct in the decades he worked in Hollywood and as artistic director at London’s Old Vic theatre.
On November 8, the journalist whose October tweet triggered a series of accusations about Kevin Spacey spoke out.
Former TV news anchor Heather Unruh told a press conference in Boston that her son had been assaulted by Kevin Spacey, at the age of 18 in a bar in Nantucket, Massachusetts, in July 2016.
Heather Unruh said Kevin Spacey had bought her son alcohol – the drinking age in Massachusetts is 21.
She said the actor had invited her son to a party, but he had run away from the bar when Kevin Spacey had gone to the lavatory.
A criminal investigation was now under way, Heather Unruh said.
“Shame on you for what you did to my son. Your actions are criminal,” she said through her tears.
Since the first allegation of advances were made by Anthony Rapp on October 30, Netflix suspended further production of House of Cards series, the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced it will no longer give the actor a special Emmy award, and his agent and publicist dropped him as a client.
In response to Anthony Rapp’s claims, Kevin Spacey said he has no memory of the incident and offered an apology.
On November 3, UK police confirmed they were investigating an alleged assault on a man from 2008.
Meanwhile, Kevin Spacey said he was seeking treatment after facing the allegations but did not give information about the type.
Since then more men have come forward.
Barman Kris Nixon, from Belfast, Northern Ireland, said he had been working near the Old Vic in 2007 when Kevin Spacey groped him at a party.
Two weeks later, Kris Nixon was in the basement of the bar he had been working in, when, he said, he realized Kevin Spacey was two feet behind him.
Netflix has decided to sever ties with Kevin Spacey amid a number of assault allegations against him.
The entertainment company said it would hold talks with House of Cards’ producers to see if production, which was suspended this week, could resume without Kevin Spacey.
Netflix also said it would not release Kevin Spacey’s movie about Gore Vidal.
Meanwhile, the UK police have opened an investigation into Kevin Spacey over an alleged assault.
On November 2, Kevin Spacey said he was seeking treatment after facing allegations of misconduct from a string of men.
Netflix suspended House of Cards production on October 31 following allegations by Star Trek actor Anthony Rapp, who said Kevin Spacey had tried to “seduce” him when he was 14.
The Oscar-winning actor said he was “beyond horrified” to hear of the incident, which he said he did not remember.
House of Cards, an adaptation of the 1990 miniseries of the same name, was first broadcast in 2013.
The first season garnered nine Emmy nominations, becoming the first online streaming series to win such mainstream accolades.
A Netflix spokesman said in a statement: “Netflix will not be involved with any further production of House of Cards that includes Kevin Spacey.
“We will continue to work with MRC [series producer Media Rights Capital] during this hiatus time to evaluate our path forward as it relates to the show.
“We have also decided we will not be moving forward with the release of the film Gore, which was in post-production, starring and produced by Kevin Spacey.”
MRC said in a statement earlier that it was “deeply troubled” about the allegations against Kevin Spacey.
It said it had dealt with one incident in 2012 in which an unnamed crew member “shared a complaint about a specific remark and gesture made by Kevin Spacey”, that immediate action had been taken and that the issue had been resolved.
Kevin Spacey had “willingly participated in a training process”, MRC added.
The man, aged 23 at the time, is said to have run from the property after Kevin Spacey allegedly said: “Don’t tell anyone about this.”
A police spokesman said it had no record of any arrests having been made in connection with the investigation and police declined to comment on The Sun‘s report, which says the complainant had been interviewed by police.
It comes after a number of allegations, including CNN reporting that Kevin Spacey made the set of Netflix’s House of Cards into a “toxic” work environment through a pattern of harassment.
The CNN report said allegations were made by eight people who currently work on the show, or worked on it in the past, with one former employee alleging Kevin Spacey assaulted him.
House of Cards production has been suspended on October 31 following allegations by Star Trek actor Anthony Rapp, who claimed Kevin Spacey tried to “seduce” him when he was 14.
Kevin Spacey said he was “beyond horrified” to hear of the incident, which he does not remember.
Meanwhile, director Tony Montana also claimed he was groped by Kevin Spacey in a Los Angeles bar in 2003.
Tony Montana said he was left with PTSD for six months after the incident.
Incidents regarding the Oscar-winning actor are also alleged to have taken place in the UK while he was the artistic director at the Old Vic in London between 2004 and 2015.
Mexican actor Roberto Cavazos, who acted in several plays at the theater, claimed Kevin Spacey “routinely preyed” on young male actors.
Earlier this week, the Old Vic set up a confidential complaints process for anyone connected to the theatre to come forward.
The Old Vic said in a statement: “We aim to foster a safe and supportive environment without prejudice, harassment or bullying of any sort, at any level.”
Incidents regarding Kevin Spacey are also alleged to have taken place in the UK while the Oscar-winning was the artistic director at the Old Vic in London between 2004 and 2015.
Roberto Cavazos, who acted in several plays at the theater, claims Kevin Spacey “routinely preyed” on young male actors.
The Mexican actor wrote in a Facebook post: “It seems the only requirement was to be a male under the age of 30 for Mr. Spacey to feel free to touch us.”
Roberto Cavazos said he fended off two “unpleasant” advances from Kevin Spacey that “bordered on harassment”, but that others were afraid to do so.
“There are a lot of us who have a <<Kevin Spacey story>>,” he says.
The Old Vic has set up a confidential complaints process for anyone connected to the 200-year-old theater to come forward.
The theater said in a statement: “We aim to foster a safe and supportive environment without prejudice, harassment or bullying of any sort, at any level.”
Separately, British Daniel Beal claims Kevin Spacey exposed himself to him in 2010, when he was working at a hotel in West Sussex.
The former bartender, then 19-year-old, claims Kevin Spacey also invited him up to his room, but he rejected the star’s advances.
Daniel Beal says the actor gave him his £5,000 watch later that same evening, and a few weeks later called him asking to meet up.
He told the Sun: “In hindsight, that must have been grooming. He was just like his character in House Of Cards – seedy and a bit weird.”
Meanwhile, House of Cards’ production has been suspended following the assault allegations against Kevin Spacey.
House of Cards was already due to end after season 6, but production is now suspended “until further notice”.
Kevin Spacey has also been dropped as the recipient of a special Emmy award he was due to receive next month.
The International TV Academy said in a statement that it was withdrawing the International Emmy Founders Award “in light of recent events”.
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