Kevin Spacey's statement of regret after being accused of trying to seduce former child actor Anthony Rapp has kicked up a backlash when the two-time Oscar winner then chose to come out of the closet, prompting many to question the timing and accusing the actor of trying to change the subject.
Rapp told BuzzFeed News that he was attending a party at Spacey's apartment in 1986 when an inebriated 26-year-old Spacey picked him up, placed him on his bed and climbed on top of him. Rapp, then 14, was able to get away without any physical harm.
"Kevin Spacey really tried to throw the entire LGBT community under a bus and call it solidarity in an effort to mask his personal failings," wrote civil rights activist DeRay Mckesson on Twitter.
Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of the gay rights group GLAAD, said in a statement that the story was really about unwanted sexual advances on Rapp and not Spacey's sexuality.
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Here are some other reactions from Twitter:
Comedian Guy Branum: "The classiest way to come out of the closet is as a PR smokescreen to distract people from the fact that you tried to molest a child."
Australian journalist and television personality Sarah Harris: "I couldn't give two stuffs that Kevin Spacey is gay. Allegations he sexually harassed a child is what we SHOULD be talking about."
Comedian Wanda Sykes: "No no no no no! You do not get to 'choose' to hide under the rainbow!"
Travon Free, comedian and writer for "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee": "Can't believe I'm saying this in 2017 but here it goes: Being gay is not an excuse for trying to molest children."
Conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro: "'Sure, I may have tried to rape a 14-year-old boy when I was 26, but I'm gay!' is a pretty horrible defense."
Kevin Spacey presents an award at the BAFTA Los Angeles Britannia Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Friday, Oct. 27, 2017. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
