Kevin Spacey fights back tears as he testifies how sex abuse allegations 'exploded' his career

Kevin Spacey fought back tears and dabbed his eyes with a tissue Thursday as he told jurors in a London court how sexual misconduct allegations six years ago had destroyed his career.

Kevin Spacey fought back tears and dabbed his eyes with a tissue Thursday as he told jurors in a London court how sexual misconduct allegations six years ago had destroyed his career.

“My world exploded,” Spacey said at his sexual assault trial. “There was a rush to judgment and before the first question was asked or answered I lost my job, I lost my reputation, I lost everything in a matter of days.”

The emotional testimony came toward the end of his nearly three hours in the witness box, in what could be the most consequential speaking part of his life. He denied sexually assaulting three men and chalked up crotch-grabbing allegations by a fourth as having been a “clumsy pass.”

The allegations that sent Spacey's stellar film and stage career into a spiral came in 2017 as the #metoo movement gained momentum in the U.S. and a fellow actor accused him of sexually inappropriate behaviour three decades earlier.

News of those accusations led others to come forward, including four men in England who said the two-time Oscar winner sexually assaulted them between 2001 and 2013.

Prosecutor Christine Agnew has called Spacey a “sexual bully” who “delights in making others feel powerless and uncomfortable.”

The four alleged victims, who didn't know each other, independently described disturbing encounters that escalated from unwanted touching to aggressive fondling. One man who called Spacey a “vile sexual predator” said he passed out or fell asleep on the actor's London sofa and woke up to find him performing oral sex.