As allegations of sexual harassment within Hollywood continues to grow, Kevin Spacey becomes the latest to have the finger pointed at him as Anthony Rapp comes forward about an encounter when he was just a young teen. To make matters worse, Spacey's apology has equally shocked the internet.

Kevin Spacey at 'Baby Driver' premiereKevin Spacey at 'Baby Driver' premiere

Nobody should ever feel as if they can't talk about their sexuality freely and openly, but sometimes coming out is completely the wrong response to a situation. 58-year-old Kevin Spacey has decided to confess that he's gay in the same breath as apologising for making sexual advances to 'Star Trek: Discovery' star Anthony Rapp when the latter was just 14, and many are accusing the older actor of archaically conflating homosexuality with paedophilia.

Anthony, who is now 46, revealed to Buzzfeed how Spacey attempted to 'seduce' him in 1986 after inviting him to a party at his home in Manhattan during Anthony's run of 'Precious Sons' on Broadway in which he starred opposite Ed Harris and Judith Ivey. He went alone, and found himself in the bedroom watching television until everyone had left.

'My memory was that I thought, Oh, everybody's gone. Well, yeah, I should probably go home', said Anthony. '[Spacey] sort of stood in the doorway, kind of swaying. My impression when he came in the room was that he was drunk... He picked me up like a groom picks up the bride over the threshold. But I don't, like, squirm away initially, because I'm like, 'What's going on?' And then he lays down on top of me... He was trying to seduce me. I don't know if I would have used that language. But I was aware that he was trying to get with me sexually.'

While nothing further happened and he was eventually able to get away, Anthony confesses that he was 'frozen' with fear. After that, he remembers Spacey asking if he was sure he wanted to leave, and then walked home full of confusion about what had just happened to him. 

'The older I get, and the more I know, I feel very fortunate that something worse didn't happen', he continued. 'And at the same time, the older I get, the more I can't believe it. I could never imagine [that] anyone else I know would do something like that to a 14-year-old boy.'

Naturally, Anthony spent the next three decades trying to avoid the star, worrying about having to work with him, and feeling panicked every time he saw him in a movie or bumped into him at an event. Spacey has wasted no time in delivering a sincere apology about what he did.

'I have a lot of respect and admiration for Anthony Rapp as an actor. I'm beyond horrified to hear his story', Spacey responded on Twitter. 'I honestly do not remember the encounter, it would have been over 30 years ago. But if I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior, and I am sorry for the feelings he describes having carried with him all these years.'

While no amount of apologising - and indeed no amount of alcohol or time passed - can excuse those sort of actions, this wasn't the worst way to respond to such scandalous claims about your own conduct. The problem is, he didn't stop there.

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'This story has encouraged me to address other things about my life', he said. 'As those closest to me know, in my life I have had relationships with both men and woman. I have loved and had romantic encounters with men throughout my life, and I choose now to live as a gay man. I want to deal with this honestly and openly and that starts with examining my own behavior.'

His decision to come out as gay is deserving of praise - if only it wasn't immediately following claims of seducing an underage boy. He is yet to respond to criticism.