Kevin Spacey trial – as it happened: ‘We love you’ – fans cheer actor after he cried in court at not guilty verdicts

Key points

Jury clears Kevin Spacey of all charges after more than 12 hours of deliberationsWatch: Actor ‘humbled’ and ‘enormously grateful’ to jurySpacey cried as verdicts read | Fans cheer ‘we love you”Does this verdict allow Kevin Spacey to be Kevin Spacey?’Reaction: ‘I think he will be back’ | ‘He will never get over this’The stories about Sir Elton John and Dame Judi DenchWarning: Coverage contains graphic descriptions of alleged assault
Live reporting from Southwark Crown Court by Gemma Peplow, arts and entertainment reporter, plus updates from Brad Young and Jack Parker

17:00:01 That’s it from our live coverage

We’ll be closing this blog now, but you can still scroll through for updates from earlier today.

Here’s a quick reminder of what happened: 

Kevin Spacey was cleared of all charges against him after 12 hours of deliberations by the jury Spacey cried as the verdicts were readThe actor spoke outside court afterwards, saying he was “humbled” and “enormously grateful to the jury” Fans cheered as Spacey left the court.

Here’s a full summary of a dramatic day in court…

16:30:01 In pictures: Kevin Spacey leaves court

Photographers surrounded the Hollywood actor as he was bundled into a car by his entourage following his appearance at Southwark Crown Court. 

Spacey had earlier spoken outside court and said he was “humbled” after being cleared of all charges. 

16:20:36 ‘He will never get over this’, says MP who was falsely accused

A former Conservative MP who faced false allegations of child abuse and murder has warned Kevin Spacey “will never get over” the case. 

Harvey Proctor was given a payout by the Met Police in 2019 after his home was raided as part of the disastrous Operation Midland following fictitious claims made by Carl Beech. 

Beech had falsely claimed he and other boys were raped and tortured by members of an invented “VIP paedophile ring”. 

Mr Proctor has now tweeted his wishes to Spacey, saying: “The torment Mr Spacey has endured will not end with the conclusion of the trial or the nine ‘not guilty’ verdicts.

“I wish him, and his loved ones, well.”

16:14:25 ‘I think he will be back’

“Trial by social media” has left Kevin Spacey facing an uphill struggle to return to acting, according to a media commentator.

Giving his reaction to Sky News, Nigel Pauley said Mr Spacey had fallen a long way since winning Oscars, appearing in some of TV’s biggest shows, and being awarded an OBE. 

“People made allegations. The court has heard them, has tested them, and we must accept that,” he said.

“I think he will be back. He will be acting. He may well have to come back in smaller films, modestly and in small steps.

“Hopefully mud won’t stick for him personally.”

He adds: “He’s innocent here. But in the court of public opinion, on social media – what will be the reaction there? 

“That fortunately seems to drive things these days. People seem to be tried, before they actually get to court, by the court of social media. 

“We have to accept the verdicts. He’s innocent, and he should be able to resume his career.” 

Mr Pauley also praised Kevin Spacey’s brief comments outside the courtroom, saying he remained in a difficult situation.

“It would be very easy for him to come out after six years of hell for him and being very, very angry and very forceful,” he said.

“I thought he was very humble, and I think that was the way to go.” 

16:09:48 Actor ‘welcomed chance to put record straight’

Kevin Spacey has finally had a chance to explain his side of the story, our arts and entertainment correspondent Katie Spencer says. 

She says the Hollywood actor “welcomed this chance to put the record straight” and had “doggedly looked back through emails and documents to prove his innocence”. 

The case has attracted a “huge amount” of media attention since charges were first made over a year ago. 

Spencer says when she sat in for one of Spacey’s first court appearances, photographers were “fighting” to get a photo of the actor. 

15:56:19 What next for Kevin Spacey?

By Gemma Peplow, arts and entertainment reporter, in court

Kevin Spacey will be hoping these verdicts in the UK will put an end to years of allegations that began in the US in 2017, several years before he was charged with criminal offences here in 2022.

After the first allegation of sexual misconduct was made by the actor Anthony Rapp, more were made public and the Oscar winner was largely shunned in Hollywood.

He was very quickly erased from Ridley Scott’s All The Money In The World, released in December 2017 – with Christopher Plummer reshooting his scenes as billionaire John Paul Getty – and axed from his Golden Globe-winning role as scheming politician Frank Underwood in the Netflix political drama series House Of Cards.

But criminal charges in LA and Massachusetts were dropped in 2018 and 2019 respectively, and in 2022, Spacey was found not liable in a civil trial in New York.

Now, he has been found not guilty of criminal charges in the UK.

During the trial, he told how he had “lost my job, lost my reputation – I lost everything, in a matter of days”.

Now, the star once best known for Oscar-winning performances in films such as The Usual Suspects and American Beauty will be hoping these verdicts could lead to a way back.

15:51:14 Cheers from fans as Kevin Spacey leaves the court

By Gemma Peplow, arts and entertainment reporter, in court

Members of the public cheered and filmed Kevin Spacey as he left Southwark Crown Court in London after speaking briefly to reporters on the steps outside.

A crowd had gathered earlier this afternoon after the news broke that the Hollywood star had been cleared of all charges.

One man wished him a happy birthday, while another shouted “we love you, Kevin”, as he got into a taxi to leave.

Many held phones aloft, trying to get pictures of the actor, and there was also a mention from one man for House Of Cards, the Netflix political drama series that won Spacey a Golden Globe – before he was axed when allegations against him first emerged in the US.

The actor had kept his statement short, saying he was “humbled” by the outcome of the trial.

15:48:20 Next step is ‘reclaiming his career and his name’

The next step for Spacey is “reclaiming his career, reclaiming his name”, a celebrity lawyer has said.

The attention has been “toxic to his brand” but the fact he entered court every day through the front entrance shows he was “standing tall and wanting to confront the allegations”, said Christopher Melcher.

“This has been a very long road for him and to have been cancelled based on anonymous sources, immediately taken off the House of Cards show and then presented with a bill for $30m that he is now expected to pay… now years later to see this outcome is really incredible.”

He continued: “It’s an incredible relief obviously for Kevin Spacey.

“It is a great day for him in clearing his name.”

Mr Melcher added: “Now it is really a matter of reclaiming his career, reclaiming his name.”

15:40:59 Spacey speaks

 Kevin Spacey is addressing media outside Southwark Crown Court.

Here’s every word…

“I imagine that many of you can understand that there is a lot for me to process after what has just happened today,” he says.

“But I would like to say that I am enormously grateful to the jury for having taken the time to examine all of the evidence and all of the facts carefully before they reached their decision and I am humbled by the outcome today.

“I also want to thank the staff inside this courthouse, the security and all those who took care of us every single day, my legal team, Evan Lowenstein and Lucy for being here every day, and that’s all I have to say for the moment. Thank you very much.”

15:35:39 How much will Spacey’s defence have cost – and will he now be back on our screens?

Media lawyer Mark Stephens has been giving his reaction to Sky News – and offered some interesting snippets.

He said while the prosecution was relying on the sheer number of accusers to make a case, the defence’s argument was that this wasn’t about numbers.

“[They argued] This was about exceptionalism for celebrity,” he says. “The jury seemed to have accepted that defence. 

“And in those circumstances, Kevin Spacey walks free like a newborn lamb with no stain on his character whatsoever.”

Mr Stephens says Spacey will have been left with a hefty legal bill, despite being cleared on all charges.

“We expect him to have spent £2m-3m on his legal team in mounting this defence,” he says. 

“The allegations came at the height of the #MeToo challenges which Hollywood had. 

“As a consequence, nobody could be seen to be associating with someone who was accused of this kind of sexual wrongdoing.

“Out of an abundance of caution, obviously the studios have essentially dropped him. Now there doesn’t seem to be any purpose to that.”

The two-time Oscar winner hasn’t appeared in a major film since Baby Driver in 2017. 

Mr Stephens believes Spacey will want to make up for lost time.

“I think the acquittals will go some way to restoring his earning potential,” he said.

“I assume he’ll be looking to pick up his career again from where he left off.”

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