After being accused of sexually assaulting actor Anthony Rapp in 1986, when Rapp was 14 years old, actor Kevin Spacey issued an apology in which he came out as gay. Spacey blamed drunkenness for his actions. There had been rumors that Spacey was gay for years, but he had never come out, and kept his personal life very private. Many people are upset that Spacey used his apology as an opportunity to come out.

Actor Kevin Spacey (“House of Cards”) came out as gay on Sunday night. He delivered the news on Twitter in an apology to actor Anthony Rapp, who accused Spacey, now 58, of making a sexual advance on him in 1986, when Rapp was 14 years old.

Here’s Spacey’s apology:

The fact that Spacey used his apology as an opportunity to finally come out (there had been rumors for years, just no confirmation since Spacey is a very private person), has upset a lot of people. Rapp said that the alleged incident, which happened when he was a minor, deeply affected him. And some people felt that Spacey’s apology tried to shift the narrative away from Rapp, and that Spacey’s excuse for his behavior (drunkenness) was nowhere close to sufficient.

"You do not get to 'choose' to hide under the rainbow," comedian Wanda Sykes tweeted.

On Monday morning, Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and CEO of GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) said, "Coming-out stories should not be used to deflect from allegations of sexual assault. This is not a coming-out story about Kevin Spacey, but a story of survivorship by Anthony Rapp and all those who bravely speak out against unwanted sexual advances."

Here are some of the ways people are reacting to Spacey's apology on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/rosemcgowan/status/924866515140268032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw