Anthony Rapp Accuses Kevin Spacey of Child Molestation
November 15, 2017
With some of Hollywood’s biggest names such as Harvey Weinstein and Woody Allen under fire for sexual assault allegations, Anthony Rapp accused Kevin Spacey of inappropriate conduct towards Rapp in 1986. 14 years old at the time, Rapp was invited by Spacey to his New York apartment where Spacey reportedly made sexual advances towards the Rent star.
After Buzzfeed reported Rapp’s accusation on Oct. 29, Spacey took to Twitter to publish a formal apology, though fans found the apology disingenuous and distracting from the issue of sexual assault. In the apology, the House of Cards actor came out as gay.
The LGBTQ community responded over Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms denouncing Spacey’s shoehorning of his sexuality with such a sensitive issue. Senior Samantha Buell viewed his apology as inappropriate, especially in regards to the tweet’s timing.
“I thought it was cowardly of him. He is using [his sexuality] to back pedal and change the subject,” Buell said. “If he wanted to come out, he would have a long time ago. Being a part of the LGBTQ community, I can see how coming out to such a big audience is scary, but he is using it as a cover up.”
The implications of Spacey’s coming out extend beyond its ill-timing; members of the LGBTQ community and allies alike believe that the apology perpetuates society’s contrived view of the community as predatory. Marcelo Martir, 11, believes that Spacey’s apology continues to feed that cliche.
“Spacey’s apology just seemed to me to be perpetuating stereotypes that gay men are sexual predators,” Martir said. “He was attempting to create support for himself using the LGBT+ community.”
Spacey is one of the several relevant figures that have recently come under fire for sexual assault accusations. Others include politician Roy Moore and comedian Louis C.K., whose allegations were published to The New York Times on November 9. Fans of the comedian, such as Jose Cisneros, 11, were disappointed to receive the news.
“Well, honestly, it’s horrible to hear those kinds of stories, besides the fact that one of my favorite comedians had a run of his own,” Cisneros said. “It’s a hard business to really become well-known in and because of that, people are being taken advantage of.”
As victims continue to condemn the actions of Spacey and C.K. in addition to Weinstein and Allen, action has already been taken in the form of marches, petitions, and hashtags.
When I first met Jaz I was surprised at how lovable she is. This girl who is the current Editor in Chief for newspaper, who is a quiz bowl state champion, and the president of the writing center, put so much on her shoulders and will make you surprised at how well she handles everything that gets thrown at her. Jasmine Fernandez is the girl who makes you want to live her life for even a second, adored by all who meet her and baffled by how many faculty members she has befriended; to the point where she even attended board meetings.
She is the silly person everyone wants to be friends with, I mean if you saw someone sitting in a Panera for eight hours wouldn’t you have the urge to go speak to this mindless girl?
Many people call her ‘mom’ seeing how she cares for all of her friends, and honestly everyone who she meets. Instead of calling her my mom I would prefer to call her my comrade, seeing how we both go through the same struggles in life, dealing with the drawbacks of high school and life.
Rather than letting the torments get to her and slow down her path to Cornell Jasmine confidently thrives on through high school, as she states, “I am so grateful for the opportunities i’ve had and lessons i’ve learned in those gates but i’m also really excited to move onto the next”. Having the ability to push obstacles out of her way to focus on what actually deserves her attention, causes many around her to envy her, and secretly hate her, but that is besides the point.
-Vanessa Carillo
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