Richard Dreyfuss took to Twitter on Saturday, November 4, to praise his son Harry for coming forward about alleged past sexual harassment by Kevin Spacey.
I love my son @harrydreyfuss more than I could explain with all the words in the world. And I am so incredibly proud of him right now. https://t.co/iLOxTxPe4n
— Richard Dreyfuss (@RichardDreyfuss) November 5, 2017
“I love my son @harrydreyfuss more than I could explain with all the words in the world,” Richard, 70, wrote. “And I am so incredibly proud of him right now.”
In a personal essay for BuzzFeed News published on Saturday, Harry wrote he was 18 when he accompanied his father to Spacey’s London apartment to rehearse lines for the play Complicit. During the 2008 alleged encounter, Harry recalls Spacey, “came to my side and asked me how my Christmas had been. I had had a terrible Christmas, I told him, because I was too shy … Kevin slid his hand into mine. He wrapped his fingers between my fingers, and peered into my eyes, and warmly said, ‘Don’t be shy.’ Then, ‘You’ll get over it.’ I was stunned.”
Shortly after, Harry, Richard and Spacey went into another room to read the script for the play, which Spacey was directing. “After a few minutes, he put his hand on my thigh. Finally (finally, finally) I became suspicious. It took that long because it just never occurred to me that Kevin would be interested in me in the first place. He was an adult man, a hero of mine, my dad’s boss, none of which were categories on my radar for sexual interactions,” Harry writes. “Besides, I thought, Surely he can’t be coming on to me like this right in front of my dad. But his hand stayed there.”
Harry says he attempted to remove himself from the situation, however Spacey persisted. “I stood up and walked to the other side of the couch, and sat back down. Bulletproof,” he writes. “But without missing a beat, Kevin stood up too, and followed me. He sat just as close and immediately put his hand back on my thigh.”
Harry alleges that he once again tried to move away from Spacey and “firmly placed my own hands upon my thighs, palms down, claiming that territory for myself,” however the House of Cards star “followed me, sat down, and with considerable effort, slid his hand between my right hand and my right leg.”
As previously reported, Netflix announced that Spacey has been fired from House Of Cards and the company will no longer be going through with his Gore Vidal biopic amid the recent sexual misconduct allegations. Production was previously suspended on the fan-favorite series following actor Anthony Rapp’s October 29 Buzzfeed interview, in which he accused Spacey of coming on to him in 1986 when Rapp was 14 years old. Following Rapp coming forward about the alleged incident, eight House of Cards employees have spoken up about alleged incidents of sexual assault or harassment by Spacey.
In light of the allegations, Spacey has decided to seek support. “Kevin Spacey is taking the time necessary to seek evaluation and treatment,” a representative for the star said in a statement to Us on Thursday, November 2. “No other information is available at this time.”
Shortly after Rapp’s Buzzfeed story was published, Spacey took to Twitter to issue an apology, but was later slammed for his statement by people who believe that he tried to deflect from the issue by coming out as gay.
“I have a lot of respect and admiration for Anthony Rapp as an actor. I’m beyond horrified to hear this story. I honestly do not remember the encounter, it would have been over 30 years ago. But if I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior, and I am sorry for the feelings he describes having carried with him all these years,” Spacey wrote on October 29. “This story has encouraged me to address other things in my life. I know there are stories out there about me and that some have been fueled by the fact that I have been so protective of my privacy. As those closest to me know, in my life I have had relationships with both men and women. I have loved and had romantic encounters with men throughout my life, and I choose now to live as a gay man. I want to deal with this honestly and openly and that starts with examining my own behavior.”
