Kevin Spacey can’t catch a break. His Christmas Eve video, in which he resurrected his House of Cards monster Frank Underwood, was widely seen as weird. Ditto his “joke” appearance the other day delivering pizza to a member of the paparazzi. And his hope that he could skip the court appearance in which he’d be formally arraigned for allegedly groping an 18-year-old? Shot down by the judge in question.
Page Six reports that Nantucket District Court Judge Thomas Barrett denied Spacey’s request to not be present for the arraignment, which is scheduled to take place on January 7. His argument: that him showing up in person would “amplify the negative publicity already generated in connection with this case.”
Spacey’s lawyer, Juliane Balliro, doubled down, writing in case documents that his being there would only “heighten prejudicial media interest in the case” and increase the risk of contaminating the jury pool.”
Alas, Judge Barrett wasn’t buying it. Spacey has been accused of sexual misconduct with a teenage boy, who alleges the actor plied him with booze at a club and touched his genitals. It’s one of several accusations that began being lodged against the actor last fall, during the infancy of what became the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements.
(Via Page Six)