The US distributor responsible for putting Kevin Spacey’s latest film in cinemas has said they hope “distressing” sexual misconduct allegations against the actor “do not tarnish the release” of ‘Billionaire Boys Club’.
Vertical Entertainment recently confirmed that the film - which was shot before multiple men came forward to accuse Spacey of sexual misconduct - will get its digital release in the States in July, before a limited cinema release the following month.
In a new statement issued to TheWrap, Vertical Entertainment explained their decision, stating: “We hope these distressing allegations pertaining to one person’s behaviour - that were not publicly known when the film was made almost 2.5 years ago - do not tarnish the release.
“We don’t condone sexual harassment on any level and we fully support victims of it.”
The statement added that the decision to release the movie was “neither an easy nor insensitive one [...] but we believe in giving the cast, as well as hundreds of crew members who worked hard on the film, the chance to see their final product reach audiences”.
There is no word yet on whether the film will play in UK cinemas, and production company Armory Films did not respond to HuffPost UK’s previous request for comment.
Spacey has been out of the limelight since multiple men accused him of sexual harassment back in November 2017.
At the time, his then-publicist said Spacey was seeking “evaluation and treatment” and the actor released a statement, which drew criticism for his decision to use the opportunity to come out as gay.
Following the harassment allegations, Spacey was fired with immediate effect from ‘House Of Cards’ and Robin Wright will be the drama’s sole lead when series six arrives later this year.
When the first news reports were published, Kevin had recently completed work on the Ridley Scott film ‘All The Money In The World’ but did not make the final cut.
Rather than releasing the film with Spacey in such a significant role (he played pivotal character J. Paul Getty), Scott decided to reshoot all of Spacey’s scenes with Christopher Plummer replacing him as the billionaire.