"It's hostile and hateful"— Netizens react to Succession star Brian Cox defending Kevin Spacey

In an interview with the UK Publication The I Paper, Succession actor Brian Cox defended Kevin Spacey, on February 14, 2025. He slammed people for daring to cancel "his old friend," as he supported Spacey after he was accused of s*xual misconduct by several men starting in 2017.

Since those assault allegations against Spacey came out, he has not worked in Hollywood, which, Cox noted was "petty and not right." As he defended said Kevin Spacey, Brian said that while the Oscar-winning actor "did certain things," people shouldn't "destroy a man's career because of what he is."

"Kevin is an old friend of mine. All right, Kevin did certain things... But at the same time, you don't destroy a man's career because of what he's... He also did a lot of extraordinary work. And I find that really petty, and I just don't like it. It's sneaky and petty and not right," he added.

Brian Cox also admitted to thinking that Spacey was "misguided" in terms of his s*xuality," he reasoned that it had to "do with him coming to terms" with it.

"But that's to do with him coming to terms with his own s*xuality and how he's death with that, and the dilemma that it's caused in his life," the actor noted.

However, Cox's comments in defense of the Oscar-winning actor sparked outrage from fans and other netizens. One social media user pointed out that his statement was deliberately ignorant, which they said was "disgusting" considering Brian Cox's standing.

"Brian Cox is not a stupid man. That's why this is so much more disgusting than if it came from some loser with no interest in thinking. He seems to imply that s*xual assault is somehow an extension of s*xuality and s*xual orientation. That's deliberate ignorance, and it's hostile and hateful," a Reddit user wrote.

Fan comment on Brian Cox (Image via @zabaebarella/Reddit)

Other netizens also shared their disappointment about Cox's supportive statements for Spacey. One person called him a "horrible judge of character" as another said he was "self-absorbed."

"Your friend is a disgusting man and you have horrible judgement of character," a Reddit user commented.

"That's the worst take ever, if Cox thinks like that I'm not surprised that the entire industry asked for Polanski's liberation because "he also did a lot of extraordinary work," an X user commented.

"A classic case of "He's innocent because he never did anything to ME!" How self-absorbed do you have to be," another user on X said.

Fans of Cox's work as an actor urged him to stop defending an abuser, as some said that there are consequences to someone's actions, seemingly referring to Spacey being canceled.

"Love Brian Cox as an actor but he needs to shut the f**k up and stop defending an abuser," an X user commented.

"Actions have consequences whether you like them or not," another user on X pointed out.

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Brian Cox says he "never found Kevin Spacey abusive"

Kevin Spacey first made headlines in 2017 after actor Anthony Rapp alleged that Spacey made s*xual advances against him in the '80s when he was 14 years old.

More allegations have since come out, including 10 men who claimed "unwanted s*xual behavior" from the actor, as featured in the docuseries Spacey Unmasked. In 2023, he was cleared of all s*xual assault charges.

However, in his February 14 interview, Brian Cox took offense at people supposedly canceling Kevin Spacey when he never found the actor abusive. While he said that it was "understandable" if people don't want to cast someone who committed a s*xual crime in a film, he didn't think that it applied to Spacey.

"We live in a free society, so people are allowed to be who they are, and they someone push their luck, particularly in the s*xual area of life. Not everybody is abusive. I never found Kevin Spacey abusive," he added.

Brian Cox also discussed cancel culture, saying that people have started canceling others because of their "bad" behavior. He added that it was not something he could fully grasp.

"People are going, 'Oh, that's bad, he's out, boom, he's cancelled.' What do you mean 'cancelled'? How dare you cancel anybody?" the actor wondered.

In support of Kevin Spacey, he added that just because someone "sought to have s*x with a few people" doesn't necessarily mean that they should be canceled.

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The s*xual assault allegations against Kevin Spacey are featured in the docuseries Spacey Unmasked, which premiered on Investigation Discovery on May 2024 and is now streaming on Max.