Kevin Spacey delivered a lengthy and fiery speech at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday evening, marking his first visit to the global gathering in almost a decade and since being found not guilty on sexual assault charges.
Spacey was speaking at a gala held by the Better World Fund, where he was awarded a lifetime achievement award. The actor got emotional as he compared his own ousting from the film industry to the blacklisting of screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. He closed by citing a quote from his “friend” Elton John: “I’m still standing”
Spacey was the event’s star guest and was praised on stage by Better World Fund president Manuel Collas de la Roche, who said the actor embodied the “powerful interaction between art and influence.”
Spacey praised the event for taking “risks” by inviting him. “Who would have ever thought that honoring someone who has been exonerated in every single courtroom he’s ever walked into would be thought of as a brave idea.”
He also compared the decision by the Better World Fund to invite him to Kirk Douglas’ support for blacklisted writer Trumbo.
“Kirk Douglas took the risk and would later say, it’s easy for us actors to play the hero on screen, we get to fight the bad guys and stand up for justice, but in real life, the choices are not always so clear.”
The event also featured an auction with items including a designer cigar humidifier, a guitar signed by Kevin Costner and another guitar signed by Sting (the latter went for $28,000). At one point, Spacey was ushered on stage to urge the audience to pay attention during the auction.
Spacey’s surprise visit to Cannes — which was reported by Variety over the weekend — marks the first time the two-time Oscar winner has attended the festival since 2016, when he served as emcee for the amfAR gala. Spacey’s career imploded the following year following multiple allegations of sexual impropriety. Since 2017, more than 30 men have accused Spacey of sexual assault or inappropriate behavior, leading to his exit from the Netflix series “House of Cards.”
Spacey was found not liable in a civil lawsuit in New York in 2022 and was acquitted in a criminal case in London the following year in one of the U.K.’s most high-profile #MeToo trials.
The actor’s visit to Cannes has been orchestrated by the producers of conspiracy thriller “The Awakening,” in which Spacey stars. The British indie — about the uncovering of a sinister global cabal that controls the world (and is run by Spacey) — was the first movie that actor shot after being cleared of charges in the U.K. in 2023. It is being shopped by producers at this year’s fest.
