Sharon Stone says the ‘hatred’ directed at Kevin Spacey is because allegations were ‘man-on-man’

Hollywood legend and Basic Instinct star Sharon Stone has suggested that Kevin Spacey has been shunned by the industry because the sexual assault allegations levelled at him involved “man-on-man” contact.

In May, calling him a genius, the actress was one of several stars to advocate for the disgraced House of Cards actor to return to the acting world.

Her comments came after Channel 4 aired Spacey Unmasked, a documentary which featured a number of people going on record to discuss their experiences with the Oscar-winning star.

In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Stone was pressed about her support for 64-year-old Spacey. She claimed he was only experiencing “so much hatred” because the accusations were from other men.

“People are mad at me for [saying Spacey should be allowed to act again]. I said that after being in therapy for seven years, not being allowed to work, losing his home, losing everything, he should be allowed to come back,” she said. “He’s reached out to everybody he’s offended and said he’s sorry.”

While Stone said that she was aware that Spacey “grabbed people by their genitals” – he has admitted “being too handsy” with people in the past – “nobody [has publicly said] he’s raped them or forced them into a sexual encounter”, she added.

“There’s so much hatred for him because in his case it was man-on-man. That’s why he’s not allowed to come back. Because he offended men. But can I tell you how many men have grabbed my genitals in my life time? A lot more than Kevin Spacey has grabbed men’s genitals. And none of them has ever apologised to me.”

Oscar-nominated Casino star Stone suggested that she perhaps has more sympathy than most for Spacey because she has been “cancelled left and right”.

However, the actress told Entertainment Weekly that she is “not defending” Spacey. 

“When someone does seven years of recovery from any compulsive behaviour, whether it is drugs, alcohol or sexual addiction, and takes responsibility for it, in our business, we allow them to come back to work with their sponsor. This is the only case I have seen where that has not been the case,” she said.

“My observation is that this is because it is man-on-man. And we have not been responsible at all for men-on-women sex crimes and that there must be a middle line.”

Last year, Spacey was cleared by a jury of seven counts of sexual assault and two counts of other serious sexual offences, after a four-week trial in London. In 2022, he was found “not liable” in a US civil case bought by Star Trek: Discovery star Anthony Rapp, who had accused the star of making an unwanted sexual advance towards him in 1986.

The actor, who was named as artistic director of London’s Old Vic in 2003, is still facing a civil trial in the UK next year, after being sued by one of the men involved in last year’s trial, who accused him of sexual assault. Spacey has continued to deny the allegations against him.

Speaking after Spacey Unmasked aired in May, the actor, who has won Tony and Olivier Awards for his on-stage roles, said that he took “full responsibility for [his] past behaviour and [his] actions,” but “cannot and will not take responsibility or apologise to anyone who’s made up stuff about or exaggerated stories about [him]”.