Kevin Spacey Says He Feels “Less in Jail” Nine Years After Misconduct Allegations

Kevin Spacey is opening up about where his career stands nearly a decade after allegations of sexual misconduct upended his life in Hollywood.

The two-time Oscar winner appeared on Bill Maher‘s Club Random podcast, where the host pressed him on the accusations, the court battles that followed, and what comes next.

“I feel less in jail than I did,” Spacey told Maher on the episode, adding, “When people actually start to hear the facts, understand what we won in courts, I think people now look at this and think, ‘Maybe nine years has been enough.'”

The House of Cards star, who won Academy Awards for American Beauty and The Usual Suspects, said the tide finally feels like it’s turning in his favor.

“I feel much more welcomed, and I think that things are moving in the direction that we hoped they were moving in,” he explained.

Spacey was dropped from House of Cards after five seasons and replaced by the late Christopher Plummer in Ridley Scott‘s All the Money in the World once the allegations surfaced in 2017. He has largely worked on low-budget and overseas productions since.

Maher didn’t let his guest off easy, telling Spacey that the volume of accusers made the situation hard to ignore.

“I go by numbers with scandals,” Maher said. “If it’s like one person, I’m always like, ‘I don’t know if I wasn’t in the room.’… [But] there’s too much smoke to be no fire.”

Spacey pushed back, but stopped short of a full denial.

“I never said there was no fire,” he said. “It just wasn’t a raging forest fire. It was a small kitchen fire that could have been put out with an extinguisher.”

On the case brought by actor Anthony Rapp, which Spacey won in federal court in New York, the actor argued the narrative around him had been distorted.

“There are certain cases where part of something is true, but it’s been rethought, it’s been redesigned or it’s been entirely made up,” Spacey said, noting that his team has won “in every court we’ve gone into with a jury.”

The conversation wasn’t all legal recap. The pair also touched on Hollywood’s double standards, Spacey’s mentorship under Jack Lemmon, his time in therapy, and Netflix’s decision to shelve one of his completed films, according to the podcast’s official episode notes.

Spacey broke out a string of celebrity impressions during the taping, including Johnny Carson and Lemmon, and told Maher he believes his best work may still be ahead of him.

In 2024, Spacey revealed he owed “many millions” in legal fees and that his longtime Baltimore home was headed for foreclosure. “I’m not sure where I am going to live now,” he said at the time.

Whether the renewed publicity translates into actual studio work remains to be seen, but Spacey’s appearance signals he isn’t done fighting for his place back in the industry.