US actor Kevin Spacey (63) has denied allegations of sexual assault in court. According to US media reports, the allegations are untrue, said the former star of the series "House of Cards" on Monday during a civil trial in New York. Earlier, the court, following a request from Spacey's attorneys, dropped a portion of the charges alleging intentionally causing emotional distress.

The lawsuit was filed by actor Anthony Rapp (50) because of an incident at a party in New York in 1986. Rapp accused Spacey of being violent at the time. At that time, Rapp, who later became known for the musical "Rent" and the TV series "Star Trek: Discovery", was 14 years old. With his civil suit against Spacey he wants to win around 40 million dollars in damages. What Spacey did to him was the "most traumatic experience" of his life, Rapp testified in court.

In the course of the MeToo debate in autumn 2017, allegations were made against two-time Oscar winner Spacey ("The Usual Suspects", "American Beauty") that he had become sexually assaulted. Several victims went to court, but some lawsuits were dropped or dismissed due to the statute of limitations. Crew members of the Netflix series "House of Cards" also accused Spacey of sexual harassment. The streaming giant then canceled the collaboration with him.

Spacey was also reported in the UK at the end of May for sexually assaulting three men. The prosecutor's office in London had announced that the cases were between 2005 and 2013.

Report by Deadline Report by NYT Report by CNN