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File image of Kevin Spacey and Guy Pearce (front left and right) and Russell Crowe in the back while on the set of L.A. Confidential Alamy Stock Photo

Kevin Spacey tells Guy Pearce to 'grow up' and rejects claims he ‘targeted’ him on film set

‘I was young and susceptible, and he targeted me, no question,’ said Pearce in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

KEVIN SPACEY HAS told Guy Pearce to “grow up” in relation to allegations by Pearce that Spacey “targeted” him during the filming of L.A. Confidential in 1997.

Spacey added that Pearce is “not a victim” in a video he posted to social media.

In 2018, Pearce said Spacey was a “handsy guy” and soon afterwards, he clarified his comments and said: “Although I wasn’t sexually assaulted or molested, I was made to feel uncomfortable.

“I addressed and handled the situation when it took place, hence my regret at making it public now.”

However, in a podcast with The Hollywood Reporter this week, Pearce said he wanted to “try to be more honest about it now and call it for what it is”.

Pearce, who stars in the Bafta-winning film The Brutalist, said Spacey “targeted” him during the filming of the 1997 L.A. Confidential.

southwark-crown-court-london-uk-19th-july-2023-american-actor-kevin-spacey-leaving-southwark-crown-court-where-he-is-facing-charges-of-sexual-offences-between-2001-and-2013-photo-by-amanda-rosea File image of Kevin Spacey Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

“Even though I probably was a victim to a degree, I was certainly not a victim by any means to the extent that other people have been to sexual predators,” said Pearce.

However, he told The Hollywood Reporter that he was “sort of scared of Kevin because he’s quite an aggressive man”.

“He’s extremely charming and brilliant at what he does – really impressive.

“He holds a room remarkably. But I was young and susceptible, and he targeted me, no question,” said Pearce.

Pearce further claimed that while filming the movie in Los Angeles, he only felt “safe” when fellow cast member Simon Baker was on set, “because I’m dumped like a hot potato, and [Kevin] focuses on [Simon] because he was 10 times prettier than I am”.

Pearce said it was only decades later, during the #MeToo movement, that he fully processed what had happened.

Spacey was one of the Hollywood figures accused during this period, but was legally cleared of misconduct and sexual assault in separate trials in the UK and US.

He also successfully defended himself against a lawsuit brought on by actor Anthony Rapp, who alleged that Spacey had made sexual advances towards him at a party in New York in 1986, when Rapp was 14.

In a video posted on X, Spacey said he read the comments Pearce made and remarked: “We worked together a long time ago, if I did something then that upset you, you could have reached out to me.

“But instead, you decided to speak to the press, who are now of course coming after me because they would like to know what my response is to the things that you have said.”

Spacey said that his response to Pearce was “grow up”.

Spacey claimed that Pearce flew out to meet him a year after filming L.A. Confidential “just to spend time with me” and added that this “doesn’t fit into the victim narrative”.

He then said Pearce was on a “mission 28 years later, after I’ve been through hell and back”.

Spacey said he was “happy to have a conversation with Pearce” at any time and that he has “nothing to hide”.

He finished the video by saying: “Guy, you need to grow up, you are not a victim.”

Pearce told The Hollywood Reporter that he “had a couple of confrontations with Kevin” since and that it “got ugly”.

However, Pearce did not specify the date or the details of what occurred.

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