Kevin Spacey
Elton John and David Furnish testify at the trial
Kevin Spacey (left) and Elton John at the “White Tie and Tiara Ball” in summer 2001.
©John Rogers/Getty Images
Both Elton John and his spouse testified in the trial of Kevin Spacey as witnesses for the actor’s side.
Megastar Elton John (76) and his partner David Furnish (60) have each testified individually as witnesses for the defense of Kevin Spacey (63) in a currently ongoing trial. This is reported, among other things, by the US industry magazine “Variety”. Among other things, it was about the actor’s presence at the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s “White Tie and Tiara Ball” in the early 2000s. John and Furnish, who have been together for around 30 years and have been married since 2014, testified via video link from Monaco.
Spacey is currently facing charges of sexually assaulting several men in a London court. The singer was asked in the video link if he recognized one of the alleged victims. John replied that he neither recognized the man nor that his name meant anything to him. Furnish, on the other hand, could remember one of the men. In his opinion, he was “very attractive” and “always had a cheeky smile on his face”. You could always have “playful battles of words” with him.
In white bow tie to Elton John’s estate
John and film producer Furnish hosted the White Tie and Tiara Ball at their Windsor home for “maybe 15 or 16 years” for charity. The singer may remember Spacey’s arrival in 2001 because the actor appeared in the so-called “white tie” dress code. Men wear this on highly official occasions and usually appear in tails and a white bow tie. John also confirmed that Spacey stayed with him and Furnish after the ball, but that he doesn’t recall if the actor revisited the property at a later date.
According to media reports, one of the alleged victims previously claimed to have driven Spacey to the ball in 2004 or 2005. He allegedly grabbed the man in the crotch. Furnish explained that Spacey could only have attended that one ball in 2001.
He also went through the photo archive of the British “OK!” magazine again and could not find any evidence that the accused had attended the event again. According to the report, the Elton John AIDS Foundation worked with the magazine for the event. According to Furnish, if a celebrity of Kevin Spacey’s fame had attended it multiple times, there should have been pictures of it too. The fact that a star came to the event and refused to take photos would have led to an “impossible situation” for the organization. The film producer is certain that something like this could not have happened.
The trial at Southwark Crown Court began at the end of June and is scheduled to last around four weeks. The two-time Oscar winner, who was dropped by Hollywood as part of the MeToo movement, is accused of sexually assaulting four men between 2001 and 2013 in twelve cases, some of which were serious. Spacey denies the allegations and has pleaded not guilty to all charges. In court, however, the actor recently reported “intimate” touching with one of the alleged victims and consensual sex with another.