Kevin Spacey gets a standing ovation at his ‘Cancel Culture’ lecture in Oxford

Kevin Spacey made a surprise appearance at an Oxford lecture in honor of the late conservative philosopher Roger Scruton on Monday evening, performing for the first time since his acquittal of sexual assault charges in London.

in Clip from the event Titled “What Shakespeare Can Teach Us About Cancel Culture,” Douglas Murray, associate editor at The Spectator, invited Spacey to the stage to perform a monologue from “Timon of Athens.”

“In this age of cancellation and throwing out the window, we sometimes forget that we can’t go on like this and that we’ve been here before. We know this because our greatest writers and artists have addressed this issue in their own time,” Murray said, referring to Scruton’s brief firing from the office. A government commission in 2019 over offensive remarks he made in an interview with the New Statesman newspaper.

“It’s about what happens when someone’s community falls for no reason,” Murray said. times About the scene in particular. “It’s something that was on Kevin’s mind, as it was on Roger Scruton’s mind, so I said I wanted him back on stage in the UK.”

Spacey then delivered the presentation, making his way through the audience before saying the final line of the monologue: “I’m tired of this fake world, and I’m not going to like it!” Spacey left the room dramatically before re-entering, and the audience received him with a standing ovation.

In July, Spacey was acquitted of sexual assault charges in the United Kingdom after a four-week trial in London. He was initially accused of sexually assaulting four men in the country between 2004 and 2013. Spacey’s trial in the UK followed another trial in New York in 2022, where he was also found not responsible for sexual assault.

However, the accusations continue to blight the former “House of Cards” star’s career. The premiere of his first film since the controversy, “Control,” was canceled by a London cinema over the weekend.

“My staff and I are terrified to be mentioned at the same time his new film is premiering,” Greg Lynn, who runs the Prince Charles Cinema, said in an email. Telegraph. The premiere was able to find a new location “in less than 24 hours” after the cancellation, a rep for the “Control” star and producer Lauren Metcalfe said. diverse.