Sharon Stone believes that Kevin Spacey is still “canceled” due to his sexual orientation and not the allegations against him of assault.
Stone told The Hollywood Reporter that while Spacey “grabbed people by their genitals,” so goes the standard in Hollywood. According to Stone, however, it is solely due to the fact that the allegations against Spacey are queer that Spacey’s career hasn’t recovered.
“He’s reached out to everybody he’s offended and said he’s sorry,” Stone said. “Kevin grabbed people by their genitals. Many people. But nobody [has publicly said] he’s raped them or forced them into a sexual encounter. But there’s so much hatred for him because in his case it was man-on-man. That’s why he’s not allowed to come back. Because he offended men.”
She continued, “But can I tell you how many men have grabbed my genitals in my lifetime? A lot more than Kevin Spacey has grabbed men’s genitals. And none of them has ever apologized to me.”
The “Basic Instinct” icon added, “We really need to delineate between what’s a misdemeanor and what’s a felony. That needs to happen. There’s a difference between a slap on the ass and rape. They aren’t the same thing.”
Still, Stone admitted that “people are mad at me” for standing by Spacey.
“I said that after being in therapy for seven years, not being allowed to work, losing his home, losing everything, he should be allowed to come back,” she said.
Spacey was acquitted in 2023 of sexually assaulting four men. At the time, Spacey stated that of the four men’s charges, two were consensual, one was a “clumsy pass,” and the fourth “never happened at all.”
Spacey is still facing a civil trial in the UK, set for 2025, over the same allegations for which he was acquitted in a criminal court last year. He has denied the claims from 10 public accusers, saying, “I take full responsibility for my past behavior and my actions. But I cannot and will not take responsibility or apologize to anyone who’s made up stuff about me or exaggerated stories about me.”
The actor is set to be celebrated by Italy’s Nations Award for Lifetime Achievement, which is organized by the Senate of the Republic and the Sicily Regio.
And Stone isn’t the only Hollywood icon supporting Spacey: Paul Schrader told Variety he plans on working with Spacey for Frank Sinatra biopic.
“Cancel culture won’t let him go,” Schrader said. “He’s reading a book on how Charlie Chaplin was canceled.”
Schrader added of the potential biopic, “I would not use Kevin if he had been convicted. But he was not convicted.”
