Can Kevin Spacey Revive His Career After Sexual Assault Charges?

Celebrity lawyer Christopher C. Melcher, who is ranked as a best family law attorney in California, discusses if Kevin Spacey can revive his career after found not guilty in sexual assault charges on Sky News.

Celebrity lawyer, Christopher C. Melcher, joins us from the US. Your initial reaction to the jury’s verdict this afternoon?

Kevin Spacey’s Not Guilty Verdict

“Well, it’s an incredible relief, obviously for Kevin Spacey who has undergone allegations here that started from anonymous sources that had him canceled from the House of Cards series all the way now until today. And he did win that prior case in the U.S. by Anthony Rapp, and then now the most serious criminal charges that he’s been acquitted of, so this has been a very long road for him. And to have been canceled based on anonymous sources, immediately taken off the House of Cards show, and then presented with a bill for $30 million that he’s now expected to pay, now years later, to see this outcome is really incredible. And for Kevin Spacey really going forth, taking the stand and testifying, confronting the allegations and prevailing, it is a great day for him in clearing his name,” states Christopher C. Melcher, who ranks as a top family law attorney in CA.

Host: As a celebrity lawyer, give us an insight into the commitment of Kevin Spacey through this trial. Our Arts and Entertainment correspondent said he has gone in the front entrance & comes out the front entrance every day to a bank of photographers and cameras from all around the world. What is it like to be a celebrity at the eye of this all and something so serious?

Kevin Spacey’s Courtroom Behavior

“Well, this is certainly not the attention that anybody wants, and it’s been toxic to his brand. And I think him coming into court like this publicly and not going through some secret entrance that might’ve been made available to him, shows that he is standing tall and wanting to confront the allegations. He subjected himself to cross-examination on these allegations, and certainly, he had to do this. This was the most important role that he’s played in his life… So now it’s really a matter of reclaiming his career, reclaiming his name because although the accusers were granted lifelong anonymity, he was not. He was named, he was exposed, and now he has been acquitted and he had carried that presumption of innocence, of course, with him the entire time. But now he has been acquitted and hopefully, he can move past the allegations,” explains California family law attorney Chris Melcher.

Host: How hopeful are you that he can revive his career? There is this trial here in the UK where he has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting 4 men, not guilty on all charges made against him, but in the US, he has faced similar accusations & been in court again, found not guilty, but this is an unfortunate back catalog that he will now carry with him. Can he revive his career?

Kevin Spacey’s Career Revival

“Absolutely. He is a very popular actor and very talented…I believe he can recover from that. I believe that there’s an audience waiting for him. The fact that he has undergone all these allegations, but again, it’s 20 years past, and questions about whether it was consensual on some of these, not necessarily whether it happened, but whether it was consensual, so I believe that he could move past it. The challenge that he and producers face is making sure that nothing like this is even alleged to have happened again because it would be a major distraction to the project…So I imagine when he does return to work, there would be some plan in place to make sure that allegations like this don’t arise because he’s not put in positions where these kinds of interactions could occur,” stated Chris Melcher, high-net-worth California family law attorney.

Host: One of the defense arguments put forward by his team during this trial was that Kevin Spacey had been tried by social media. It’s worth viewers casting their minds back to when these allegations first started to surface, it was at the height of the #MeToo Movement.

“Well, of course. We saw the immediate reaction to that, and I understand the history there of why things needed to change in society, but now the course is corrected to being more skeptical and saying that allegations of things that allegedly occurred 20 years ago should be looked at more carefully, and that we carry a presumption of innocence and we want to see some evidence- rather than just jumping to the conclusion because one or more people say something that automatically it must be true. So obviously, very serious allegations and the accusers are entitled to respect and also entitled to be believed. But we do need to take our time on these things because the damage that’s done cannot easily be repaired. Again, it’s the function here of the system where the accusers are granted anonymity but the accused is not, also needs to be taken into account,” stated Chris Melcher, partner of top family law firm Walzer Melcher Yoda LLP.