It’s been nearly a year since Kevin Spacey was acquitted on sexual misconduct charges, and stars are coming to the actor’s defense in demanding he be allowed to return to his career in Hollywood.
After the two-part documentary titled “Spacey Unmasked” aired in the U.K. last week, fellow actors, including Sharon Stone and Liam Neeson, praised Spacey – who was blacklisted after sexual assault claims from various men surfaced – and claimed that the industry “needs him and misses him greatly.”
“I can’t wait to see Kevin back at work,” Stone told The Telegraph. “He is a genius. He is so elegant and fun, generous to a fault and knows more about our craft than most of us ever will.”
KEVIN SPACEY FOUND NOT GUILTY IN SEXUAL ASSAULT TRIAL
Kevin Spacey was acquitted on sexual misconduct charges in July 2023. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
“It’s terrible that [aspiring actors] are blaming him for not being able to come to terms with themselves for using him and negotiating with themselves because they didn’t get their secret agendas,” she added.
Neeson shared the same sentiment and said, “I was deeply saddened to learn of these accusations against him. Kevin is a good man and a man of character. He’s sensitive, articulate and non-judgmental, with a terrific sense of humor. He is also one of our finest artists in the theater and on camera. Personally speaking, our industry needs him and misses him greatly.”
Liam Neeson and Sharon Stone both came to Spacey’s defense. (Getty Images)
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F. Murray Abraham, who won an Academy Award for his role as Salieri in “Amadeus,” said, “I vouch for him unequivocally. Who are these vultures who attack a man who has publicly accepted his responsibility for certain behavior, unlike so many others?”
“He is a fine man, I stand with him, and let he who is without sin cast the first stone,” he added.
Ahead of its release, Spacey slammed the documentary as a “one-sided” version of events and stated the seven days given to him by Channel 4 (the U.K. station first airing the doc) to respond was not a “fair opportunity.”,
Kevin Spacey was a very highly regarded actor before the allegations surfaced. (Getty Images)
“I will not sit back and be attacked by a dying network’s one-sided ‘documentary’ about me in their desperate attempt for ratings,” Spacey wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “There’s a proper channel to handle allegations against me and it’s not Channel 4.”
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“Each time I have been given the time and a proper forum to defend myself, the allegations have failed under scrutiny and I have been exonerated.”
He was acquitted on sexual misconduct charges in July 2023 after four weeks of testimony. Spacey had pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual assault, indecent assault and causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.
The jury found him not guilty.
“I imagine that many of you can understand that there’s a lot for me to process after what has just happened today,” Spacey said after court. “But I would like to say that I’m enormously grateful to the jury for having taken the time to examine all of the evidence and all of the facts, carefully, before they reached their decision.”
Kevin Spacey was blacklisted from Hollywood after sexual assault claims against the actor surfaced. (Getty Images)
“I am humbled by the outcome today,” he added. “I also want to thank the staff inside this courthouse, the security, Evan Lowenstein, and all those who took care of us every single day, my legal team… for being here every day.”
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Spacey’s latest acting credit is a movie called “Peter Five Eight,” which was released earlier this year. Per The Hollywood Reporter, it was filmed in September 2021. He also has a film called “The Contract” that’s currently in production.
Fox News Digital’s Lauryn Overhultz contributed to this post.