Actor Kevin Spacey’s visit to Israel triggers backlash for being ‘in bad taste’
Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey’s 1 December visit to Israel and the boundary of occupied Palestinian territory has sparked widespread backlash online, with Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza and the actor’s controversial history of alleged inappropriate sexual behaviour and former charges of sexual assault coming back to the fore.
The Oscar-winning actor was seen in Israel near the frontier with Gaza, according to photos shared on social media on Monday by Libby Alon, chief international news editor for Now14Israel.
Multiple news outlets reported that Spacey was there to visit a friend’s daughter, who is serving in the Israeli army. They toured communities impacted by the Hamas-led 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel. Spacey also had a “surprise meeting” with Ayala Levinstein, a soldier from the US serving in the Israeli army.
British journalist Douglas Murray - who makes regular trips to the country - accompanied Spacey on the visit.
Social media users criticised the timing of Spacey’s visit to Israel during its war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 45,000 Palestinians since October 2023. At least 10,000 are still missing and presumed dead under Gaza’s rubble.
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The war has also created famine-like conditions in the country. Around 1.84 million people across Gaza are living through high levels of acute food insecurity, including 133,000 people experiencing "catastrophic" food insecurity.
Some said the visit was in "bad taste", with one social media user comparing it to “touring a concentration camp”.
Kevin Spacey “was accompanied by British author and pro-Israel journalist Douglas Murray."
— Alex Nunns (@alexnunns) December 2, 2024
Somehow Spacey managed to find someone who can still tarnish HIM by association, not the other way round. Touring a concentration camp with an Oswald Mosley wannabehttps://t.co/7goPGVQbjC
Many people pointed out the staggering number of women and children that have been killed during Israel's war on Gaza. According to the United Nations, nearly 70 percent of victims in the besieged enclave are children and women.
I do not care about the size of the cheque, nothing is worth ones humanity and morals.
— PugOwned Plays (@PugownedS) December 2, 2024
Low estimate are that 55,000 Palestinians predominantly women and children have been slaughtered, yet Kevin Spacey smirks at the world from Israel. https://t.co/dIuZjTWz87
In response to Spacey visiting Israeli soldiers and touring “communities impacted by the 7 October attacks”, many online said it was hypocritical not to make any mention of the Palestinian communities and cities destroyed or heavily damaged by the war.
According to an April 2024 report by the World Bank and the United Nations, Israel has destroyed billions of dollars worth of infrastructure in its bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
While there, Kevin Spacey should have ALSO toured communities impacted by the massacre of Netanyahu's government.
— Phantom (@effoff1988) December 3, 2024
100K+ maimed for life. 40K+ killed. Mostly women and children. Also journalists and aid workers.
But the serial predator doesn't care about that, huh.
Shocking. https://t.co/HNVF048YAN pic.twitter.com/rz9CFaiX7M
Middle East Eye contacted Spacey and his official representative, Ewan Lowenstein, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Sexual assault allegations
Social media users also commented on sexual assault charges against Spacey made in the past, saying that they add to the distasteful nature of his visit to Israel despite those charges being dropped.
Many quoted news articles about Israel becoming a haven for sex offenders and paedophiles, with one Haaretz article from 2016 being cited most often.
According to Jewish Community Watch, an organisation that tracks accused paedophiles, over 60 US citizens accused of paedophilia have successfully fled to Israel in the past few years.
Spacey's career came to a halt in 2017 after accusations of inappropriate sexual behaviour started to emerge. The alleged incidents occurred in London between March 2005 and August 2008 and in Gloucestershire in April 2013.
At the time, he had the starring role of Frank Underwood in the Netflix political drama, House of Cards. He subsequently lost the role.
Spacey was charged with offences against three men in May 2022, with additional charges from a fourth complainant added in November 2022.
In 2022, a US court dismissed a sexual assault lawsuit against the actor. And in May 2023, Spacey was found not guilty of all charges of sexual assault against four men.
Many Hollywood actors supported Spacey after he was cleared of all charges and backed his return to acting.
Many online pointed out that in light of this history, Israel’s invitation and featuring of Spacey creates a negative image for the country and does not help rising antisemitism.
I feel like Israel is a lot more responsible for the rise in antisemitism than like actual American nazis at this point. How do you have a genocidal country that celebrates pedophiles and also rhetorically tie the entire Jewish identity up in that? It's so evil. https://t.co/mRsihLwOg4
— the photo 🔻 (@LargePissFella) December 3, 2024
One social media user quoted a report by the Association of Rape Crisis Centres in Israel, which revealed that 81 percent of sexual assault and harassment complaints in Israel were closed without an indictment.
One of the most striking aspects of the ARCCI report is the age of those calling the centres, with 59 percent under 18 and 28 percent under 12.
According to the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel, over 55,044 incidences of sexual assault were logged in 2023.
— cthulhucachoo (@Cthulhucachoo) December 3, 2024
59% of the complaints came from minors under the age of 18.
Sensing a theme here. https://t.co/eYtF4XRXme
Some social media users said Spacey’s visit to Israel was an effort to “soft launch” his career by furthering Israeli propaganda and supporting Zionism. Even though Spacey was cleared of all charges of sexual assault and misconduct, his career has not yet fully recovered.
A documentary called Spacey Unmasked, released in May 2024, featured testimony from several men about sexual misconduct allegations against Spacey.
Spacey denied allegations of inappropriate behaviour that were featured in the documentary while taking “full responsibility for my past behaviour and my actions.”
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