In a time when coming out is a cause of celebration and happiness, a time of acceptance and finally being who you are, there are very few ways to actually screw it up.
And no, this is not in regards to the people whom you are coming out, but you yourself cannot really screw it up that bad.
However, Kevin Spacey, it seems has managed to do the impossible and come out at the most inopportune time, right after being accused of sexually assaulting a minor making it almost seem like an excuse for his actions.
What Is The Problem?
Kevin Spacey was recently accused by Star Trek: Discovery star Anthony Rapp in a Buzzfeed interview of trying to sexually assault him when he was 14 years old in 1986.
Rapp apparently said in the interview, that he and another friend who was 17 years old, were invited by Spacey first to a nighclub and then to Spacey’s apartment in Manhattan for an industry party.
The thing to keep in mind is that both Rapp and his friend were incredibly underage and had no business being invited to a nightclub or to a late night party, so just the fact that Spacey invited them to such kind of gatherings is off putting.
Rapp later recounted that he was pretty much bored for the duration of the party and stayed inside of a room watching TV. However when he got his bearings he found that it was late, the party was over and Spacey was standing in the doorway of the room.
Rapp was quoted saying that Spacey, “sort of stood in the doorway, kind of swaying. My impression when he came in the room was that he was drunk … He picked me up like a groom picks up the bride over the threshold. But I don’t, like, squirm away initially, because I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ And then he lays down on top of me.”
Now, in response to this allegation, Spacey gave out a detailed apology, where he apologized ‘if’ he did something like that and…. Came out as gay.
Yes, somewhere in the midst of that ‘apology’ Spacey also came out and declared that “he is choosing to live as a gay man”.
Like, wait… what?
So Spacey went from giving a reluctant and half-hearted apology for practically being a pedophile to coming out as a gay man. All in small text.
Is… is this making sense to anyone else?
Read More: “No One Has Ever Crossed The Line With Me”: Vidya Balan On The Harvey Weinstein Scandal
Not A Pedophile, But Just Gay
If you can get over the poorly worded sham of an apology that Spacey gave, ‘do not remember’, ‘been over 30 years ago’, ‘would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behaviour’.
Hmmm… where all have I heard this before?
Oh, of course, every sorry excuse of a man (or person) who does not really want to admit they were in the wrong.
And what is worse is that Spacey has in one single swoop conflated pedophilia with being gay, in turn shaming the entire community and adding another prejudice against them.
As if they did not already have enough problems of their own.
Timing Of Coming Out
Have to say that even up until now, am unable to understand what and why would Spacey come out in the same tweet when he is practically apologising for an act of pedophilia.
As in, what, did Kevin Spacey think that this would get him some sympathy after admitting such a wrong thing? Or perhaps he thought that the LGBTQ community at least would come out in support of him and cover up the sexual assault allegations against Spacey.
His coming out is even more interesting when one remembers that in a Playboy interview, Spacey had outright denied being gay. In another interview with The Sunday Times in 1999, Spacey again pressed this fact by saying “The answer to that is no (when asked if he was gay)… but why should it matter?” “Until the media stop using sexuality as a weapon against public figures, they will always lag behind ordinary, regular folk.”
He also said that “I chose for a long time not to answer these questions because of the manner in which they were asked, and because I was never talking to someone I trusted, so why should I? Recently I chose to participate because it’s a little hard on the people I love.’’
And now suddenly, right on the heels of a sexual assault allegation, suddenly Spacey is more than okay to come out and ‘choose’ the gay lifestyle. Alright sure.
Here are some of the reactions that people have given to this situation:
Kevin Spacey has just invented something that has never existed before: a bad time to come out.
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) October 30, 2017
https://twitter.com/ChrisPJGodfrey/status/924895457255575553
Kevin Spacey, after being accused of murder: “Today I am officially coming out as a Gemini.”
— Jess Dweck (@TheDweck) October 30, 2017
Why was this skit made?
What did Seth MacFarlane know about Kevin Spacey? pic.twitter.com/fdK32PPjpA
— Mike (@Fuctupmind) October 30, 2017
Deaths of 2017:
Tom Petty
Hugh Hefner
Chuck Berry
Kevin Spacey's career— Matthew Sisson (@MatthewCSisson) October 30, 2017
https://twitter.com/Caarmsssss/status/924885701723815936
Nope to Kevin Spacey's statement. Nope. There's no amount of drunk or closeted that excuses or explains away assaulting a 14-year-old child.
— Dan Savage (@fakedansavage) October 30, 2017
https://twitter.com/Adenisstov/status/924901796308553728
To be honest, this entire fiasco could have been handled much better, if Spacey had just apologised and not brought in his sexuality, and tried to divert the attention, maybe, just maybe people would have appreciated his honesty. But now, it not only has tarnished Spacey’s good name, but also brought about some scary questions.
Image Credits: Google Images
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http://edtimes.in/2017/07/instances-sexual-abuse-of-men-india-social-media-chose-ignore/
