Kevin Spacey makes weird claims about Hollywood

Kevin Spacey has claimed his Hollywood career is on the mend, telling Bill Maher's Club Random podcast on Monday that he feels "much more welcomed" in the industry after years of being effectively frozen out following dozens of sexual misconduct allegations.

"I feel much more welcomed, and I think that things are moving in the direction that we hoped they were moving in," the House of Cards actor, 66, said.

He pointed to his courtroom record as central to his argument.

"I never said there was no fire. It just wasn't a raging forest fire. It was a small kitchen fire that could have been put out with an extinguisher," he told Maher, also acknowledging that "I hit on a lot of guys."

Maher, 70, was not entirely on his side.

The comedian told Spacey plainly that he believed some of the claims against him were valid, saying there was "too much smoke to be no fire" given the volume of allegations.

He suggested Spacey "should have gotten some punishment" while also acknowledging the actor had "paid a lot."

Spacey's response was to suggest the ledger has now been settled.

"I feel less in jail than I did. When people actually start to hear the facts, understand what we won in courts, I think people now look at this and think, maybe nine years has been enough."

He also offered a sporting analogy: "If I had been a sports figure, I would have been benched for seven games. If you're hitting home runs, they want you on the field."

The allegations against Spacey began emerging in late 2017, when actor Anthony Rapp claimed Spacey had made an unwanted sexual advance towards him when Rapp was 14.

Rapp filed a $40 million civil lawsuit, but a federal jury found Spacey not liable on all counts in October 2022.

In 2023, a London jury found him not guilty of nine sexual offence charges relating to allegations spanning 2001 to 2013.

In March of this year, Spacey settled out of court with three men who alleged sexual assault between 2000 and 2013. He has denied all allegations throughout.

At the height of the accusations, Spacey was fired from Netflix's House of Cards and replaced in Ridley Scott's All the Money in the World.

Whether Hollywood is truly ready to welcome him back remains to be seen — but Spacey, at least, appears to believe the tide is turning.