New Kevin Spacey accuser claims attack was 'certainly more than a grope'

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Backlash over Spacey's response to allegations of misconduct

Gay rights advocates disappointed in actor Kevin Spacey's attempt to link his sexuality with the alleged sexual misconduct.

The latest accusation of sexual misconduct against Kevin Spacey comes from a man claiming the actor assaulted him while they worked together in 1981.

Andy Holtzman, 64, told USA Today on Friday that he was running the film program at the New York Shakespeare Festival’s Public Theater when he encountered Spacey, who had a role in their production of "Henry IV, Part 1."

He said he was on the phone when Spacey, then 22 years old, sat down in his office and almost immediately assaulted him.

“Within minutes, wordlessly, he was up and all over me,” Holtzman told USA Today. “The aggression was certainly more than a grope. When I was finally able to push him off and scream (at him), he theatrically stepped back, incredibly angry, grabbed his coat and bag, stormed out and slammed the door.”

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Holtzman, who was 27 years old at the time, said he feared for his job and was surprised by the alleged ambush, saying he didn’t understand Spacey’s reaction to his refusal.

“It was the look on his face that was really shocking and then scary,” Holtzman recalled. “The anger was undeserved. If you ask for something and get a no, then I can understand the anger, but you ask for nothing and then try to take everything? Where is that anger coming from?"

Holtzman told USA Today he continued working at the theater and was able to avoid Spacey moving forward. But as he saw the actor become more successful over the years, he’d often talk about the encounter with his friends.

It was reportedly actor Anthony Rapp’s allegations against Spacey, and the claims of more than a dozen other people that followed, that was the “tipping point” for Holtzman to detail his own experience on his personal Facebook.

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“People ask (critically), why so many decades later are people coming forward -- even I asked that,” Holtzman told USA Today. “I understand it so much clearer now.

“If it happens to you, it really changes the perspective,” he said. “I feel a lot better now. I felt so alone at the time. Part of me feels vindicated now, to know there are a lot of us.”

Holtzman, who said he hopes Spacey gets help and doesn’t “wish him ill,” does believe that the actor’s prosperous career has likely come to an end.

“He’s a talented guy but I can’t see how people can go and watch him (on screen) without seeing Kevin Spacey ‘the sexual-abuse guy,’” he said. “I don’t know how anyone gets over that.”

Following the sexual assault allegations, Spacey has been cut from a number of productions including his latest film “All the Money in the World,” set for release on Dec. 22, and the Netflix show, "House of Cards."

Spacey was also dropped by his longtime talent agency and publicist.