Disgraced actorKevin Spaceyfaced a career-low performance at the box office this weekend.
The 59-year-old actor’sBillionaire Boys’ Club, his first on-screen appearancesince multiple sexual misconduct allegations surfaced last fall, earned a mere $126 on its first day in theaters. Co-starringAnsel ElgortandTaron Egerton, the crime drama was quietly released on Friday across eight states in the country, according toThe Hollywood Reporter.
Vertical Entertainment, the studio behind the movie,issued a press release in June affirming the production company’s decision to releaseBillionaire Boy’s Club despite the accusations against the Oscar winner. The movie was shot over a year before the allegations came to light.
“We hope these distressing allegations pertaining to one person’s behavior…do not tarnish the release,” the company toldThe Wrap. “We don’t condone sexual harassment on any level and we fully support victims of it. At the same time, this is neither an easy nor insensitive decision to release this film in theaters, but we believe in giving the cast, as well as hundreds of crew members who worked hard on the film, the chance to see their final product reach audiences,” the statement continued.
Anthony Rapp (left) and Kevin Spacey.Dia Dipasupil/Getty; Jason Merritt/Getty
Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again starJeremy Irvine,who stars alongside Spacey in the rich-kids-gone-bad film,previously told PEOPLEthat he hoped Spacey’s tarnished reputation wouldn’t detract from the rest of cast and crew’s work on the movie.
“What a lot of people probably don’t realize is just the number of people that are involved in making a movie,” Irvine explained. “For one person to have some really awful accusations made against them, for that to take away from the other thousands of people who’ve poured their hearts and souls into something, that’d be a real shame,” he added.
Since Rapp’s revelation, several more individuals accused the actor of sexual harassment or assault in the following months. In April,one sexual assault case against the star—reported to have taken place in October of 1992 —was turned over to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for further review. Scotland Yard, the metropolitan police force in London, is alsocurrently investigating several cases against Spacey.
In response to Rapp’s claims, Spacey issued a statement on Twitter addressing the allegations and coming out as gay.
“I have a lot of respect and admiration for Anthony Rapp as an actor. I’m beyond horrified to hear his story,” he said. “I honestly do not remember the encounter, it would have been over 30 years ago. But if I did behave 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.”
Spaceyentered a treatment facilityin November and has not been seen out in public since.
source: people.com
