Kevin Spacey announced that he will appear at his first ever comic book fan event after being acquitted in his sexual assault trial last year.
The 64-year-old actor said, in a video posted on Instagram, that he’s looking forward to meeting fans at the Mad Monster comic book convention in North Carolina next month — the first comic book convention ever for “The Usual Suspects” star.
The actor also took a moment to thank his fans for “all your support through all these years. It’s meant so much to me. And I hope you can make it because it would be nice to meet in person.”
The “House of Cards” and “American Beauty” star’s photo appeared in promotional material about the event and he’s listed as being among the stars who will be on hand throughout the three-day event to take pictures with fans and be available for signing autographs, the Hollywood Reporter noted.
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“Kevin Spacey is one of the most sought after actors in the celebrity appearance space,” the Mad Monster event told THR. “We couldn’t be more excited to be the first to bring him to a show.”
Other than appearing in a few strange videos posted via social media, Spacey has largely avoided being in the spotlight over the last several years following sexual misconduct and assault allegations. In October, he received a standing ovation when he performed a Shakespearean scene in Oxford — his first stage appearance following the sexual assault trial last year. Earlier that month, he also made an appearance at a film festival in Uzbekistan.
In July, the “Superman Returns” star was acquitted on all nine of the sexual assault charges against him in the United Kingdom. In the courtroom, Spacey reportedly wept after Justice Mark Wall said he was cleared of all charges and concluded that the “defendant may be discharged,” the Hollywood Reporter noted.
Spacey previously pleaded not guilty to nine counts stemming from allegations that he had sexually assaulted four men between 2004 and 2013 in London, Reuters noted. The allegations ranged from unwanted touching to aggressive fondling — and, in one case, performing oral sex on an unconscious actor.
The actor was one of the most prominent figures accused of sexual misconduct during the start of the #MeToo era. In November of 2017, Spacey was fired from the hugely popular Netflix series “House of Cards” following a string of sexual misconduct allegations against him.
One such accusation came from “Star Trek: Discovery” star Anthony Rapp, who accused Spacey of making a sexual advance toward him at a party in 1986 — when Rapp was just 14. Spacey denied the allegations. Rapp brought a civil lawsuit against Spacey but lost the case in 2022 when the actor was found not liable for battery, the New York Times noted.