Kevin Spacey exits the courtroom in New York City on October 6th. Actor Anthony Rapp accuses him of sexual harassment, and Spacey has pleaded not guilty.

DLNews Entertainment:

Actor Anthony Rapp (50) is suing two-time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey (63) for sexual harassment and is demanding $40 million in damages from the actor – Spacey, on the other hand, has pleaded not guilty.

Thursday morning saw the start of the two-week civil trial in federal court in New York.

Kevin Spacey and his security team drive up to the courthouse and are immediately surrounded by a tumult of photographers. Fans? None.

Reporters surround Kevin Spacey upon his arrival at court.

The atmosphere is very heated, mainly because there are no police cordons that allow Spacey to get out of the car without being sieged by the paparazzi.

Under the most challenging conditions, with the help of his bodyguards, he makes his way to the courthouse and does not answer the questions of individual reporters.

At 9:15 a.m. local time, Spacey enters the courtroom in a gray suit with a light blue tie and Gucci glasses case. He looks relaxed. He takes a seat next to his lawyer, whispering and laughing.

Anthony Rapp, on the other hand, is extremely tense and nervous.

Anthony Rapp (left) on his way to court in New York

9.30 a.m.: The process begins with the opening statements from both sides.

The accusation

Anthony Rapp, best known for his role in the musical Rent, claims that in 1986, when he was 14, Spacey picked him up, laid him on a bed, and lay on top of him to make a "sexual advance."

He had met the actor with his friend John Borrowman backstage in the play "A Long Day's

Journey in the Night" - Spacey's first Broadway engagement.

Rapp's attorney said in pleading that Spacey invited him to a party at his Manhattan apartment and tried to seduce him in a bedroom after the other guests left.

Rapp was in the bedroom watching the David Letterman show when suddenly a drunk and swaying Spacey appeared in the doorway. He then took the 14-year-old in his arms and, like a groom carrying a bride, laid him on a bed and climbed on top of him.

"He lay on him with his whole body and pressed his pelvis onto his hips." Rapp was then able to free himself and ran to the apartment door, where Spacey greeted him with the words, "are you sure you want to go?".

What happened to Anthony is something that should never have happened," attorney Peter Steghir told the jury, adding that his client - a shy kid and "self-proclaimed nerd" - felt "frozen" during the alleged encounter.

The incident was not an accident but intentional with full awareness. Rapp has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder since the incident.

The defense

Urging the jury to focus on evidence, Spacey's attorney Jennifer Keller claimed Rapp never mentioned this alleged incident to the police, his parents, his memoir, or his longtime therapist.

Instead, it is a story that he invented to gain attention and sympathy. Rapp would have been jealous of Spacey's immense success.

"He never became Kevin Spacey's international star, who could play almost any role. So when he saw (Kevin Spacey) win an Oscar, he got angry," says Keller. She also accused Rapp of harboring a grudge against her client for not coming out as gay at the height of his success.

"He blames Mr. Spacey for everything that went wrong in his life." Rapp's testimony would amount to many inconsistencies. For example, Spacey's apartment did not have a bedroom but only one room, as shown on a screen with a floor plan submitted to the court.

"The story only works if you invent a wall and a door," says the lawyer. Also, Rapp's description of the events matches a scene from Precious Sons, the Broadway play he was in.

In the play, a drunk Ed Harris picks up his son, played by Rapp, as he mistakes him for his wife and then lies on top of him in a manner that mirrors Rapp's accusation against Spacey.

"We are very confident that once you have heard both sides, you will be satisfied that nothing happened at all," said Keller.

Kevin Spacey has already had to pay the producers of the Netflix hit series "House of Cards" the equivalent of around $30 million in damages.

Spacey won two Oscars for his American Beauty and The Usual Suspects roles. However, after several allegations of sexual abuse against him, he was fired from the hit Netflix series House Of Cards.

More than 20 men accused the actor of sexual misconduct. He is also threatened with criminal proceedings in Great Britain.