ABOVE: Kevin Spacey. (Screenshot via YouTube)
Kevin Spacey gave a public poetry reading to a crowd in Rome marking his first public appearance since sexual assault charges against the actor were dropped.
Spacey appeared at the National Roman Museum’s Palazzo Massimo alle Terme on Aug. 2 to recite the poem “The Boxer,” written by Italian poet Gabriele Tinti, next to an ancient Greek sculpture of a wounded boxer.
According to Variety, Spacey’s team invited local journalists to cover the event.
“I shook the country, made the arenas vibrate, tore my opponents to shreds. I lit up the darkness, collected insults, compelled applause. Not everyone knew how to do this. None of you. On the other hand life is not frightening for those who have never taken a risk,” Spacey recited.
Tinti explained in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter that he chose Spacey to recite the poem because “he is the best actor in world.”
“He immediately appreciated the courage and special nature of my proposal. The idea of giving voice to an ancient statuary, or giving new life to the finds, the fragments, that which remains of our past, struck a note with his sensitivity and deep love of art,” Tinti says.
With the one and only @kevinspacey! The Museum said it was an honor to have Mr. Spacey here with us to celebrate the magnificent statue of the boxer!! #Romeloveskevinspacey #kevinspaceyarttheboxer #kevinspacey #gabrieletinti #art pic.twitter.com/EbGWRcuGi8
— gabriele tinti (@gabrieletinti) August 3, 2019
Prosecutors dropped charges against Spacey, which accused him of groping an 18-year-old boy in a Nantucket, Mass. bar in 2016. The charges were dropped after the alleged victim pled the Fifth Amendment.
Spacey still faces sexual misconduct charges in London and Los Angeles.
