Kevin Spacey’s lawyer delivered his closing remarks to the jury at the two-time Oscar winner’s criminal trial in London, arguing that of the four plaintiffs who made allegations against the actors, three were lying and suggesting the fourth was intoxicated.
Patrick Gibbs QC made his closing remarks at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday, bringing the trial to a close with four weeks to go before the jury is due to convene to decide the verdict.
In a speech that covered “fame, shame, money and memory,” Gibbs told jurors that “it’s not a crime to like sex, even if you’re famous, and it’s not a crime to have sex, even if you’re famous, and it’s not a crime to have casual sex.” according to ireland live. And he added: “And it is not a crime to have sex with someone of the same sex because it is 2023, not 1823.”
Gibbs said it was easy to lie about Spacey, saying he was “a man who’s promiscuous, who doesn’t show himself publicly, even though everyone in business knows he’s gay”, adding that he just wanted to be a “normal guy, or at least some of the time he does: drink beer, laugh, smoke weed, sit out front and hang out with younger people he’s attracted to.”
Gibbs said: “It’s not my life, it’s not your life, maybe it’s a bit of a strange life, but it’s a life that makes you an easy target when the internet turns against you and you’re judged by social media.”
Spacey, 63, faces nine charges from four different men, all dating between 2001 and 2013, a period when he lived and worked in London.
When the trial began, he faced 12 charges, but an additional charge of indecent assault was added. However, four charges were dropped on Wednesday due to a “legal technicality”. But the most serious charge, causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent, remains and carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
