A judge dismissed the emotional distress claim after Rapp’s team dropped the case Monday morning. The defense has successfully argued that part of the lawsuit rests on the same conduct that underlies Battery’s allegations.
The lawsuit is now based solely on Rapp’s allegations that Spacey assaulted him after a party at Mr. Spacey’s Manhattan apartment during the Broadway season. Spacey picked up Rapp, laid him on the bed, pressed his crotch against Rapp’s waist, and then Rapp wriggled out from under him, according to the report.
In court, Spacey denied ever being alone with Rapp, but said he remembered another night when Rapp spoke.
Rapp, who was in a Broadway play called “Precious Sons,” said he and a friend went to see Spacey’s “Long Journey Into the Night.” As Mr. Rapp recalled, he and friend John Barrowman went backstage after the show, and Mr. Spacey invited them to dinner and then to a nightclub.
Mr. Spacey testified that he was attracted to and flirted with Mr. Barrowman, who was 19 at the time. After the nightclub, they visited Mr. Spacey’s apartment. Spacey then testified that he gently pushed Mr. Barrowman onto the bed while Mr. Rupp was in the bathroom. Spacey testified that the men were up when Rapp left the bathroom.
“I was never interested in Mr. Rapp’s participation,” Spacey said.
Rapp denies ever seeing Spacey and Barrowman flirting or visiting Spacey’s apartment that night. But in video testimony given by the defense on Monday, Mr. Barrowman, now an actor known for his role on the TV show Doctor Who, recalled the night as did Mr. Spacey.