Elton John, David Furnish Testify in Kevin Spacey’s Sexual Assault Trial

Kevin Spacey’s defense team called Elton John and his husband, David Furnish, as witnesses as they tried to discredit the story of one accuser, whose allegation includes an incident that supposedly occurred on the way to John and Furnish’s annual summer gala.

One of Spacey’s four accusers has said that, in the early 2000s, he was driving with Spacey to John’s White Tie & Tiara Ball when the actor allegedly grabbed his genitals so hard that the man said he nearly crashed the car. The complainant said he believed the event occurred in either 2004 or 2005, but Spacey and his defense team have refuted that timeframe in an effort to cast doubt on the man’s claims. 

Per The Associated Press, both John and Furnish were called as witnesses to corroborate Spacey’s claim that he did not attend the party in 2004 or 2005 and that the one time he did attend was in 2001. Spacey previously brought work schedules and itineraries to show he was filming during the 2004 and 2005 events. (Neither John nor Furnish appeared in the London court but testified via video link.)

Furnish testified first, saying that Spacey only appeared in photographs from the 2001 event. He also said it was easy to remember Spacey’s attendance because he showed up unannounced and was coming off his 2000 Best Actor Oscar win. “He was an Oscar-winning actor, and there was a lot of buzz and excitement that he was at the ball,” Furnish said.

John, meanwhile, said he remembered Spacey attending the ball in 2001 and recalled the actor arriving on a private jet and dressed in white tie. When pressed on whether or not he knew Spacey came straight from the private jet to the ball, John replied, “I assume so, yes. I don’t think he was wearing white tie on a commercial flight” (via Variety). 

Additionally, John recalled that Spacey purchased a car as part of the charity auction benefitting the Elton John AIDS Foundation. He also said the actor spent the night at their house after the gala and had never visited their home on any other occasion. 

Furnish was also adamant that it wouldn’t have been impossible for someone of Spacey’s stature to show up to the White Tie & Tiara Ball and not be photographed or refuse to be photographed. “It was understood that we were promoting a charity that involves eradication of stigma around the disease and if a celebrity wanted to come they would be photographed.”

Despite the discrepancies over the timeline, Furnish did say he recognized Spacey’s accuser. “He was a little bit cheeky, he always had a cheeky smile on his face,” Furnish said. “You could always engage in playful banter with him.” 

While Spacey’s accuser has acknowledged he may have had the dates wrong, he’s remained adamant that the alleged incident in the car did happen. He insisted that afterward, he stopped spending time with Spacey. 

John and Furnish’s testimony came after Spacey testified on his own behalf last week. The court has also heard from the four men accusing Spacey. Their accusations have led to 12 charges against the actor; he’s pleaded not guilty to all of them.

This is Spacey’s second major trial over sexual misconduct claims. Last October, the actor scored a major victory when a jury in the U.S. found him not liable for battery in a civil suit tied to allegations from Anthony Rapp, one of the first people to publicly accuse Spacey.