Masseur Who Accused Kevin Spacey Of Groping Him During Malibu Massage Dies; Attorney Vows To Continue Lawsuit
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The massage therapist who sued actor Kevin Spacey, alleging he groped him during a private massage in Malibu in 2016, has died.
Lawyers for Spacey filed a notice of the plaintiff's death in federal court on Tuesday, stating the plaintiff's attorney contacted Spacey's legal team last week to report the death.
The unnamed masseur alleged the former "House of Cards" actor groped him during a private massage in Malibu in 2016. The lawsuit was moved to federal court in January.
"I regret being forced to respond to Kevin Spacey's undignified, insensitive and inappropriate public filing of the notice of death of our client, John Doe," attorney Genie Harrison said in a statement released to several news outlets. She said that her client's "untimely death was, to his family, a devastating shock that they are struggling to process and is so recent that they have not yet held his funeral service."
Harrison says they notified Spacey's counsel of Mr. Doe's passing out of professional responsibility, but says their "fight for justice is still very much alive."
The therapist alleged in the complaint that Spacey grabbed the plaintiff's hand and pulled it toward his crotch to force a sex act. The lawsuit, which Doe's attorney signaled will be continued by his estate, sought unspecified damages on allegations of sexual battery, gender violence, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Spacey, 60, has been accused by more than a dozen men of sexual misconduct. In July, sexual assault charges in Massachusetts involving an 18-year-old man were dropped.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
