Evangelist Franklin Graham has weighed in on the sexual harassment scandal surrounding actor Kevin Spacey and accused the Clinton and Obama administrations of giving Hollywood a "free pass" and allowing it to "pollute America's youth with moral corruption."
On Monday, actor Anthony Rapp alleged that Spacey, one of Hollywood's biggest names, tried to sexually molest him when he was just 14. Amid backlash, gay comedian Rosie O'Donnell likened Spacey to disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein and tweeted that "we all knew" about the "House of Cards" star's alleged behavior.
In a heated Facebook post shared Monday evening, Graham, the CEO of Samaritan's Purse, asked, "Well, if everybody knew, why did they remain silent?"
"We've all heard Harvey Weinstein's story-82 women have now accused him of sexual harassment or even rape, and the number seems to keep growing," Graham said. "He's one of Hollywood's premier producers and was in a position to make or break careers. Politicians like the Clintons and Obama flocked to his parties and he was a major Democratic donor."
Weinstein sexually harassed and assaulted women for decades - and the "whole time," everybody "in Hollywood-as well as the politicians hanging around with him-knew the kind of man he was," Graham said
"For far too long, Hollywood has gotten a free pass," he asserted. "They've been allowed to pollute America's youth with moral corruption, and Washington has done nothing to reign them in. Since I was born in 1952, we have seen a continual lowering of the standards by the Federal Communications Commission-that trend needs to be reversed."
He concluded: "Hollywood's swamp needs to be flushed."
Spacey, who has been dropped as the recipient of the International Emmy Founders Award he was due to receive next month, said in response to the allegations that if he had behaved in the way Rapp describes then he owes him "the sincerest apology" and went on to publicly announce he was gay.
"I have a lot of respect and admiration for Anthony Rapp as an actor. I'm beyond horrified to hear his story. 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," the 58-year-old actor revealed in a statement on Twitter.
"This story has encouraged me to address other things about my life. I know that there are stories out there about me and that some have been fueled by the fact that I have been so protective of my privacy. As those closest to me know, in my life I have had relationships with both men and women. 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," he ended.
Ed Stetzer, a Christian author who also serves as Executive Director of the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism, later criticized Spacey for coming out as gay in an attempt to shift the narrative.
"Dear news media, Kevin Spacey is accused of trying to molest a 14yr old boy. That's the news story. Pls don't confuse that. What happens when some in media don't know which narrative to run. Tip: he's accused of trying to molest a 14yr old boy. That's the story," Stetzer noted in a couple of tweets Monday.
