Kevin Spacey scandal: Singer Morrissey says actor is being 'attacked unnecessarily'

Jayme Deerwester | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption 20 new allegations against Kevin Spacey London's Old Vic Theatre said on Thursday it has received 20 allegations of inappropriate behavior by its former artistic director Kevin Spacey. (Nov. 16)

Nearly a month after Kevin Spacey was first accused of sexual misconduct by Anthony Rapp, 14 other men have come forward.

On Thursday, his former employers at London's Old Vic Theatre said their investigation had turned up 20 accounts of alleged inappropriate behavior.

The latest developments as they occur:

Morrissey comes to Kevin Spacey's defense

Singer Morrissey has a decades-long reputation as a contrarian, but his latest comments may test even his most ardent fans' patience.

In an interview published over the weekend by German-language magazine Der Spiegel, the former Smiths singer said Spacey is being "attacked unnecessarily" and called the account of his first accuser, Anthony Rapp, into question.

On Oct. 29, Rapp, a Broadway veteran, said that he attended a 1986 party at the actor's apartment as a teenager, where a drunk Spacey took him to his bedroom and climbed on top of him. Rapp managed to leave before the situation went any further.

List: Kevin Spacey's accusers

"As far as I know, (Spacey) was in a bedroom with a 14-year-old," Morrissey noted. "Kevin Spacey was 26, boy 14. One wonders where the boy's parents were. One wonders if the boy did not know what would happen."

Morrissey continued, "I don't know about you, but in my youth, I was never in situations like that. When you're in somebody's bedroom, you have to be aware of where that can lead to. That's why it does not sound very credible to me. It seems to me that Spacey has been attacked unnecessarily."

He compared the Spacey/Rapp encounter to the age-old practice of rock stars sleeping with underage groupies, noting that he did not do that himself.

"If you go through history, almost everyone is guilty of sleeping with minors," he noted. "Why not throw everyone in jail right away?"

Morrissey also commented on the women who say they were taken to Harvey Weinstein's hotel rooms and left alone with the producer, only to be verbally or physically assaulted. They now number upwards of 80.

"People know exactly what's going on and they play along," he told Der Spiegel. "Afterwards, they feel embarrassed or disliked. And then they turn it around and say, 'I was attacked, I was surprised.' But if everything went well, and if it had given them a great career, they would not talk about it."

"I hate rape," Morrisey said by way of disclaimer. "But in many cases, one looks at the circumstances and thinks that the person who is considered a victim is merely disappointed."

His words were met with disgust on Twitter, with the band Garbage and producer/director Judd Apatow both sharing unprintable thoughts on Twitter.

Actor/comedian Chris Gethard, a longtime fan himself who has two Morrissey-related tattoos, may have summed up the reaction best when he wrote, "I don't understand how so much of what Morrissey sings is so beautiful yet so much of what he says is so ugly."

'The Good Place' creator Michael Schur: 'Everybody knew about Kevin Spacey'

Michael Schur, a former Saturday Night Live writer who co-created Parks and Recreation and now serves as showrunner on The Good Place, looked back at the warning signs regarding Spacey during a Vulture panel discussion with fellow producer Damon Lindelof held over the weekend.

“If you think everybody knew about Louie, everybody knew about Kevin Spacey. I was on Saturday Night Live from ’97 to 2004," Schur recalled. (Spacey hosted twice, first in 1997 and again in 2006.)

Schur recalled, "I remember very distinctly when he was hitting on the (NBC) pages, and he’s hitting on the young men in the talent department. You talk about an open secret — it was the most open secret that’s ever existed. I didn’t know the extent to which the behavior was predatory, certainly, but no one didn’t know — anyone who ever worked with that guy knew that.”

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