The head of London’s Old Vic theater said Friday that she would never have hired Kevin Spacey if she had been aware of concerns about his behavior and that no complaints about him were brought to her attention during his 11-year tenure as the theater’s artistic director.
Greene, chief executive of The Old Vic, brought in Spacey in 2004 to help boost the historic but financially ailing theater’s profile. “Prior to this point, I had encountered him only at industry events, and I had no knowledge whatsoever about any concerns regarding his behavior. Had I known, I would never have appointed him,” Greene said in a lengthy statement issued to the British theater journal The Stage.
Questions have been raised over whether The Old Vic’s management turned a blind eye to Spacey’s alleged sexual misconduct – one actor has publicly accused Spacey of routinely preying on young men at the theater – but Greene insisted that she had not encountered any concerns surrounding her artistic director. “I was unaware of any allegations involving Kevin Spacey, or any form of sexual impropriety, whether connected to The Old Vic or not,” Greene said, adding: “I have championed The Old Vic for 20 years, and it makes me sick to my stomach to think that people may have suffered from harassment or abuse as a result of their association with the theater.”
Scotland Yard is now investigating an allegation of sexual assault against Stacey over an incident that took place in London in 2008. The Old Vic has set up a special email address for anyone to come forward confidentially with complaints and commissioned independent advisors to review the theater’s involvement with Spacey.
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The actor is being erased from the movie “All the Money in the World” and has been dropped from the TV series “House of Cards.” He has denied allegations of assault, but said he is currently seeking “evaluation and treatment” of his behavior.
