SPOTLIGHT

London’s Old Vic Theater: We Have 20 More People Alleging Sexual Misconduct by Kevin Spacey

Outside firm says “cult of personality” at theater may have prevented people from reporting.

Officials at London’s Old Vic theater reported Thursday that they had received “allegations of a range of inappropriate behavior relating to Kevin Spacey,” including 20 “personal testimonies” detailing misconduct by the Oscar winner between 1995 and 2013. The actor served as the West End institution’s artistic director from 2004 to 2015. Among those cited by outside investigators Lewis Silkin, a U.K. law firm, are 16 staff members and four others who came forward with allegations against Spacey. The Silkin report described a “cult of personality” that existed around the actor at the Old Vic that may have prevented staffers from reporting abuse or “rais[ing] a hand for help.” Numerous people have stepped forward with allegations of sexual harassment and assault by Spacey, sparked by actor Anthony Rapp’s Oct. 29 account of an incident when he was 14 years old. British police subsequently announced they were investigating a separate 2008 incident in London.