Is Spacey using his sexuality as a PR spin?

Let’s face it, this wasn’t exactly a surprise.

There were rumours in the 1980s, which he always denied. There were photos in the 1990s, which he never addressed.

And then there was that weird Playboy interview just before the turn of the century, where Spacey said women actually enjoyed the fact that he was rumoured to be gay.

“They want to be the ones to turn me around,” he said.

But no one did.

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In the apology statement he issued after being accused of sexually harassing a boy 12 years his junior, Spacey said he knows “that there are stories out there about me”, and added that he had “relationships with both men and women”.

After that, he comes out by saying that he now lives “as a gay man”.

Truth is, there are very few people who will be surprised by the assertion that Kevin Spacey is gay.

Maybe a few more will wonder what took him so long to make it public, but the majority will pose the obvious question: Why now?

Why take a serious accusation of trying to have sex with a minor to drop the news all over the media?

Not sure what he wanted to achieve but, whatever it was, it didn’t stick.

Hollywood was quick to issue its condemnation, with celebrities accusing Spacey of trying to spin the news from “trying to molest a child” to having trouble finding his sexuality.

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A quick online search will show you dozens of old interviews with Spacey defending his straight sexuality, speaking of wanting children with his girlfriend, joking about coming out of the closet just so he can add “wait… no” as a punchline.

Even in his statement, Spacey makes it clear he has lived as an heterosexual man before but has “chosen” to change.

A concept which hasn’t historically come down very well in the gay community.

“I take issue with his suggestion that being gay is a choice, a belief which can only foster misunderstanding and intolerance of the gay experience,” wrote the Telegraph’s Matt Cain.

Spacey, it seems, is now seen as a gay pariah.

The editor of Gay Times magazine called his statement “deeply problematic” and gay comedian Billy Eichner said it was “disgusting, irresponsible and dangerous”.

But none of that answers the question: Why now?

Because it is not our place to judge a person for not wanting to discuss his or her sexuality – much less a public figure, who is more likely to be the subject of online harassment and abuse.

But we can, and should, judge anyone who makes a sexual advance at a 14-year-old. I’m sure Spacey knows that.

So it puzzles that he didn’t deny it – but pondered it could have happened while drunk.

“If I did, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behaviour,” he wrote.

“And I am sorry for the feelings he describes having carried with him all these years.”

Of course it could simply be a heartfelt apology, a moment of clarity, a decision to make his life more transparent and step up to any mistakes that he might have done.

But being gay is not a mistake. And there shouldn’t be any connection between his sexual “choice” and the allegations made against him.

It could also be a smart spin of what has always been a very PR-oriented star.

After the accusation was published, the Royal Court Theatre’s artistic director, Vicky Featherstone, was asked if she was aware of stories about Spacey when he was working in London, to which she replied: “Many people have been aware of many stories over the years”.

If this is true, and there have been “many stories”, then more allegations could start to surface in the next few days.

If this is true, his statement could have been a carefully worded way to deal with what’s coming.