Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey walked the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday, marking another step in his gradual comeback from multiple sexual assault allegations that derailed his once-stellar career.
The 66-year-old star of American Beauty and the drama series House of Cards attended the premiere of a French blockbuster about political leader Charles de Gaulle alongside model Via Lemann. This appearance comes after he collected a lifetime achievement award from a charity in Cannes last year.
Spacey's career was severely impacted by multiple allegations of sexual offences that first emerged in 2017 as part of the #MeToo movement. However, he has consistently maintained his innocence and achieved significant legal victories in recent years.
In 2023, Spacey was acquitted of nine counts of alleged sex offences in Britain. The following year, a New York court dismissed a $40 million civil sexual misconduct lawsuit against the Usual Suspects actor. In March 2024, he reached an out-of-court settlement with three men who had launched a UK civil suit against him.
The Cannes Festival has implemented a no-tolerance policy on sexual misconduct since last year, under pressure from lawmakers and #MeToo activists. In 2025, French actor Theo Navarro-Mussy, who faced rape allegations from three women, was barred from attending a premiere of a French film in competition for the festival's top prize.
Spacey told Britain's Telegraph newspaper in November last year that he no longer has a fixed home and has spent most of his fortune, with "very little coming in and everything going out". He performed in the film Peter Five Eight in 2024, which was largely ignored by critics, and took his first television role since the scandals late last year in Minimarket, a comedy series for Italy's state broadcaster RAI, as reported by Variety.
Spacey won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for the 1996 film The Usual Suspects and Best Actor in 2000 for American Beauty. His red carpet appearance at Cannes signals a continued effort to revive his acting career despite the controversies that have surrounded him.
