The Kevin Spacey Charitable Foundation To Close Following Sexual Assault Allegations

The Kevin Spacey Charitable Foundation To Close Following Sexual Assault Allegations

The Kevin Spacey Foundation is closing its doors following a number of sexual assault allegations against the House of Cards star.

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The charitable organization, which was set up in 2011, had been set up to help young actors get ahead. It ran a number of courses and worked with local schools to mentor young talent. It was run in association with acting coach Steven Jackson-Winter.

However, the organization is now set to close later this week. “The Trustees have reached the conclusion that the work of the Kevin Spacey Foundation UK is no longer viable and as such the Foundation will be closing on the 28 February 2018. The Trustees would like to thank all their partners, artists and organisations for the great work that has been done in association with the Foundation. The Trustees hope that the objects of the charity will be taken forward by other organizations,” it noted in a statement.

Spacey had not been directly involved in the foundation in recent years due to his House of Cards production schedule. However, at its launch he said he set it up in order to help “send the elevator back down” to younger actors. “When I first started out, I was lucky enough to meet Jack Lemmon who encouraged me to become an actor. He subsequently became a great mentor in my life. Jack had a phrase that he used all the time that I’ve now adopted as my own. He believed that if you’ve been successful in your chosen path, if you’ve been able to realise your ambition, then you are obligated to ‘send the elevator back down’,” he said.

The scheme launched with Richard’s Rampage, a yearlong education counterpart to The Old Vic’s Richard III play, which starred Spacey and offered hundreds of young people, and emerging actors across eight countries, the opportunity to work with Spacey and see the production for free.

Last month, British police revealed that they were investigating a third allegation of sexual assault against Spacey. Scotland Yard said in January that they were looking into a case from a man in 2005 in Westminster. This follows two allegations made in November against the actor.

In mid-November, the Old Vic said it had received 20 allegations of inappropriate behavior by Spacey and admitted there was a “cult of personality” around the actor and that his “stardom” and “status” might have prevented people — in particular junior staff or young actors — from speaking up. Most of the alleged incidents happened before 2009.

The House of Cards star was dropped from the Netflix series after Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp levied sexual abuse allegations against him in late October. Spacey then was excised from Ridley Scott’s All the Money in the World and replaced by Christopher Plummer in a fast-reshoot turnaround. Spacey has not been charged in any of the investigations.