An actor who claimed Kevin Spacey shoved his groin in his face while he sold ice cream during a Cinderella pantomime has said his ‘heart sank’ when he saw the star at the BAFTAs a decade later.
Danny De Lillo was one of 10 men to speak out in the Channel 4’s bombshell documentary Spacey Unmasked, accusing Spacey of inappropriate sexual behaviour in a fresh wave of allegations.
The two time Oscar winner, who starred in American Beauty and more recently House of Cards, vehemently denied illegal conduct or abusing his position but admitted making ‘clumsy passes’ at people who were not interested in.
De Lillo, who waved his right to anonymity, came forward in the documentary claiming that the alleged sexual assault had occurred when he was working at the Old Vic in the mid 2000s.
He alleges that Spacey wedged his body into a tiny gap in the stalls before ‘pushing his groin into his face’.
‘This was someone I had tremendous respect for and he was pushing his groin in my face while I was working, whilst a pantomime was going on with family and children.
‘I could smell him. I could feel him getting pleasure from it. I froze just in a way that I couldn’t move and I just felt so small,’ the alleged victim tearfully recalled.
De Lillo said there were also other occasions when the star who had moved to London to work in the renowned theatre, touched him inappropriately.
A decade later in 2017, Spacey and De Lillo were in the same auditorium once again, as the Hollywood actor took to the stage – just a day before Anthony Rapp became the first man to make allegations against the movie star.
‘I was invited to the Bafta awards [2017] and all of the sudden Kevin Spacey came on stage. It was ten years later and my heart just sank to the floor – you wrecked part of my life and there was this whole room adoring you,’ De Lillo said.
‘Ten years had gone past, I thought what more has he done and that whole weekend was a blur because the Friday was the event, Saturday I told my mum, and the Sunday the news broke.’
A jury in a US civil case later dismissed the claims that were made by Rapp. But more men came forward with allegations.
In July last year Spacey faced trial at Southwark Crown Court over nine sexual offences charges in a case involving four men. He vehemently denied their claims and the jury acquitted him of all charges.
Spacey said he was ‘humbled’ after being cleared of sexual assault in a high-profile trial that saw Sir Elton John give evidence in his defence.
‘Hearing the verdict was truly devastating but it doesn’t mean we all have to be silent. I can’t give up on myself and my truth and others don’t have to either,’ De Lillo added.
Throughout the second episode of the documentary, more shocking allegations were made by former actor Ruari Cannon, who also waived his right to anonymity.
Cannon, who was 21 when he landed a role in the play starring Sex And The City’s Kim Cattrall, said he was ‘pulled in close’ by Spacey who then ‘put his left hand down by my bum and he stuck his middle finger as far up me as possible… just tried to go up through my boxers, up inside me.’
He ‘totally froze’, while Spacey, ‘pulled me in closer’ and ‘in my ear, he whispered, ‘don’t worry about it’. Afterwards, Cannon recalls, Spacey disappeared ‘just like a shark, just moved straight through and into Kevin Spacey mode at a press night’.
The alleged incident had a miserable effect on Cannon’s life who said he went on to struggle with addiction and problems with his relationships. His career also suffered.
‘I stopped putting in work for auditions and started staying in the bed all day because you made to feel what’s the point,’ he said.
‘There is a naiveite there that you were on a mission to be the best actor in the world but as soon as you feel that small, you are almost muted, your voice gets smaller.’
Spacey has repeatedly denied all allegations made in the documentary, blasting the new claims as ‘ridiculous’ and ‘completely offensive’.
Tonight’s shocking episode followed an equally dramatic segment where Spacey’s former actor friend accused him of pleasuring himself while watching the bloody Normandy landing scene in Saving Private Ryan.
The aspiring actor – referred to only by his first name Scott – claimed the unnerving incident happen in 1998 at a cinema where the Oscar award winning film was playing.
‘And we’re watching the movie, first 20 minutes of the invasion of Normandy, it’s shockingly horrific,’ Scott recalled. ‘There’s a guy picking up his arm, and people are on fire, and people are just dying in really the most horrible ways you can die.
‘All of a sudden, I just saw some activity happening next to me and I kind of glance over and Kevin’s just pleasuring himself. You know, some of the most horrific war footage ever recreated, and like, there’s no way that this is happening.
‘This guy is rubbing one out during the invasion of Normandy?’
Ahead of the documentary, Spacey hit out at the ‘Saving Private Ryan guy’ on social media questioning why Scott had allegedly reached out to him again 2011 asking for work if he was ‘so turned off’ by what he claimed the actor did.
The actor said: ‘Well, this is interesting… “Contributor #3” (Saving Private Ryan guy) said we met at the Viper Room in 1998.
‘If this guy was so turned off by everything he claims I did, why is he still chasing me 13 years later? (See email from 2011)
‘Does this mean everything he said is untrue? Of course not. But it’s important that ALL the facts be presented.’
Days before the Channel 4 show was set to air, Spacey spoke out publicly arguing that he was ‘provided with insufficient time and detail to respond to the testimonies in the film’.
‘I have consistently denied – and now successfully defended – numerous allegations made both in the US and the UK, both criminal and civil, and each time have been able to source evidence undermining the allegations and have been believed by a jury of my peers.’
Last year Spacey was found not guilty of nine sexual offences made against him by four men who were in their 20s and 30s between 2004 and 2013.
The famous actor, who sobbed at the dock as his verdict was delivered, went on to add in light of the fresh allegations that he ‘never told someone that if they give me sexual favours, then I will help them out with their career, ever’.
Continuing his fight-back against the slew of allegations, he also took part in a 95 minute interview with former GB News presenter Dan Wotton, where he declared he will ‘no longer be speechless’ in the face of allegations.
Despite Spacey’s rebuttal to have more time for a response, the Channel 4 programme went ahead.
‘We’re going ahead,’ Dorothy Byrne, one of the producers of the programme, said as she revealed she hopes it will prompt a #MeToo movement for men.
‘I’ve made a lot of programmes over decades about women suffering inappropriate behaviour, so this has been a very interesting project to work on.
‘I do feel that it’s a #MeToo moment for men. Lots of things that were done to women 50 years ago are still being done to men, many of whom feel that they have to put up with it,’ she told the Observer.
Taking further attack on the broadcaster on X he added: ‘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 was acquitted of the nine sexual offences in relation to four men at Southwark Crown Court last year.
The dismissal came after he won a US civil lawsuit in 2022 after being accused of an unwanted sexual advance in 1986.
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
