For months, the former star kept out of the limelight as numerous allegations of sexual misconduct poured forth.
But now he has emerged, opting to read a poem—ahem—about a wounded performer determined to overcome the persecution and wounds he has endured for the sake of entertainment. Spacey read his piece in front of the Greek statueBoxer at Restin Rome, selecting Gabriele Tinti’s poem “The Boxer,” for the occasion.
“The more you're wounded the greater you are,” he read with intent. “And the more empty you are.”
Spacey read: "They used me for their entertainment, fed on shoddy stuff. Life was over in a moment.” He continued: “The more you're wounded the greater you are. And the more empty you are. I have endured no end of sleepless nights. I have spent hours and hours sweating to destroy and fall.”
This was Spacey’s first performance since the 2017 sexual misconduct charges against him were dropped. The case in Nantucket was the first of more than a dozen allegations against him to make it to trial.
Spacey did not speak to reporters present at the reading about any of the allegations. The event was not advertised, but some reporters were tipped off and appeared. Notably, this isn’t Spacey’s first performance that alludes to his trouble. Last December, he released a video in which he adopted the persona of Frank Underwood, his character from House of Cards.
He is under investigation in L.A. and London and denies wrongdoing.