Inside Judi Dench’s Texts With Kevin Spacey
Judi Dench says she’s still texting Kevin Spacey, revealing in a new interview that she keeps in touch with her The Shipping News co-star even as the embattled actor remains out of the limelight.
Judi Dench just waded into one of Hollywood's messiest sagas, and she did it in classic Dench fashion: calm, direct, and not the least bit hesitant. In a new Radio Times interview, the 90-year-old icon says she still texts Kevin Spacey and considers him cleared. She also had something to say about Harvey Weinstein. So... plenty to unpack.
What Dench actually said
"Kevin has been exonerated, and I hear from Kevin, we text."
Dench and Spacey worked together on The Shipping News back in 2001, and she told Radio Times they have kept in touch by text. She framed him as exonerated and, yes, she is standing by him.
Quick refresher on Spacey's legal saga
- 2017: Multiple allegations of sexual misconduct surface against Spacey.
- The years after: Investigations roll out in the US and UK. Most criminal charges either do not stick or are dropped. Spacey denies all accusations.
- 2022: A New York civil jury finds him not liable in a high-profile case.
- 2023: A UK jury acquits him of sexual assault charges.
- Still ahead: Additional civil claims are slated for London civil court in the coming year.
Where Spacey's career sits now
Even with the courtroom wins, studios have largely kept their distance. Spacey has effectively been sidelined from big Hollywood projects and has been working more on the independent fringes.
Yes, she also voiced support for Weinstein
In the same Radio Times interview, Dench expressed support for Harvey Weinstein, who remains in prison. That one is going to land very differently for a lot of people, for obvious reasons.
Why Dench speaking up matters
Dench is not just any actor weighing in. She is widely regarded as one of Britain’s greatest, with a seven-decade career across stage and screen. The hardware backs it up: an Academy Award, a Tony, two Golden Globes, six BAFTA Film Awards, four BAFTA TV Awards, and seven Oliviers. Her most recent film was the 2022 Christmas musical Spirited.
Bottom line: Dench is still texting Spacey and publicly calling him exonerated while he tries to rebuild a career outside the studio system, with more civil litigation still to come in London. And her willingness to say all of this out loud, including her support for Weinstein, is exactly the kind of thing that keeps this story very much alive.