Kevin Spacey has had his share of ugly headlines across the past couple of years, but Denzel Washington recently said rumors swirled about him a long time before those reports popped up.

In fact, Washington said, there was talk decades before the “House of Cards” actor, 65, was accused of sexual assault and harassment.

Washington made the revelation in a five-part, first-person essay written in a Nov. 19 issue of Esquire.

Washington remembered attending the 2000 Academy Awards due to his nomination for Best Actor for his performance in “The Hurricane.” While there, he recalled watching Spacey win the award instead.

“I’m sure I went home and drank that night. I had to,” Washington, who also opened up in the piece about his decision to quit drinking and live a sober lifestyle over the past decade. “I don’t want to sound like, ‘Oh, he won my Oscar, or anything like that. It wasn’t like that.’

“And you know, there was talk in the town about what was going on over there on that side of the street, and that’s between him and God,” Washington added. “I ain’t got nothing to do with that. I pray for him. That’s between him and his maker.”

Spacey won the Best Actor Oscar for his role in 1999’s “American Beauty” after he won Best Supporting Actor in 1996 for the movie, “The Usual Suspects.” 17 years later, controversy struck and heavily impacted the actor’s career when Anthony Rapp became the first person to come out and publicly accuse him of sexual assault, with more accusers who came forward.

In 2022, a jury in New York found that Spacey wasn’t liable for battery in relation to Rapp’s accusations, and the following year, a U.K. court found him not guilty of nine counts of alleged sexual assault.

Allegations against Spacey have continued to mount, much like in documentaries such as Investigation Discovery’s “Spacey Unmasked,” which was released in May.

Spacey has denied all claims and has received an onslaught of criticism after coming out as gay in response to Rapps initial accusations in 2017.

The Associated Press called the race for Begich shortly after 9 p.m. EST, with 95% of the vote counted. Begich received 48.4% to Peltola’s 46.4% at the time the race was called. Independent John Wayne Howe and Democrat Eric Hafner received 3.9% and 1%, respectively.

After two unsuccessful bids for the seat, Alaska’s ranked choice voting system yielded a result in Begich’s favor. Under the voting method, voters rank candidates in order of preference rather than choosing a single candidate. If no candidate receives 50% in the first round, votes are reallocated as candidates with the fewest first-choice votes are eliminated.

Ranked choice voting last cycle split the vote between Begich and former Gov. Sarah Palin. That, combined with Peltola’s appeal to independents and conservative voters, allowed the now-ousted congresswoman to win both the special and general 2022 elections.

Begich previously celebrated his election win on Nov. 16, the day Decision Desk HQ projected he would win. The Associated Press took four more days to call the race, which was one of the narrowest in the country. Begich comes from a long line of politicians — his grandfather represented Alaska in the House and his uncle, Mark, was a Senator for Alaska.

“The ranked choice voting tabulation has been completed and has confirmed our win beyond any residual doubt. I am truly honored to have earned your trust and support,” Begich said in a statement Wednesday night.

“Alaska’s potential is unmatched, but much work remains for Alaskans to fully realize that potential. I am committed to fighting for our jobs and economy, protecting our unique way of life, and ensuring that our voices are heard loud and clear in Washington.”

Peltola conceded in a statement saying, “Working for Alaska as a member of our federal delegation has been the honor of my life.”

“The path ahead will not be built by one person or three people working for all of Alaska but by all Alaskans working together to build a future that works for all of us,” she said. Alaska’s congressional delegation has three members.

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“Nick, I’m rooting for you,” she said. “Please don’t forget when D.C. people keep telling you that you are one of three. You are actually one of more than seven hundred thousand Alaskans who are ready to fight for our state, myself included.”

Begich will reassume the long line of Republicans in the House representing Alaska, which Peltola interrupted with her two-year term.

A Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judge said Monday that the Washington-based Olympus Spa’s female-only policy is akin to a “whites-only” policy.

Olympus Spa, a Christian Korean-run operation, is currently arguing in court that its mandate limiting patrons to “biological females” is protected by constitutional rights. The legal counsel of the spa appeared before a three-member panel of the Ninth Circuit on Monday due to the state’s Human Rights Commission accusing the business of discrimination in 2020.

The spa was accused of discrimination for denying services to a transgender woman who had not undergone sex-reassignment surgery, conservative radio host Jason Rantz reports.

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Judge M. Margaret McKeowna, a Bill Clinton appointee, slammed the female-only admissions policy.

“If you have a law that says ‘White applicants only,’ this is ‘biological women entrance only.’ It seems to me they’re quite parallel there,” McKeown said. 

“And you can’t have ‘White people only’ come into my restaurant, and then you say, ‘Well, no, we have a religious, spiritual nature to our restaurant, and when you get there, we serve you special food.’ This seems quite different.”

According to Rantz’s report that cited court documents, the spa restricts transgender women except for those who have “gone through post-operative sex confirmation surgery.” 

Furthermore, Olympus Spa’s rule maintains the policy is “essential for the safety, legal protection, and well-being of our customers.”

Olympus Spa, a Christian Korean-run operation, is currently arguing in court that its mandate limiting patrons to “biological females” is protected by constitutional rights.  (Google Maps (Screenshot))

The Christian-run service provides a Korean body scrub service called seshin that requires nudity. The owners maintain religious convictions that only married men and women can be unclothed in the same vicinity as each other. Their policy bars biological males from entering the facility. However, according to its website, “biological women are welcome” as well as those with “post-operative sex or gender confirmation surgery.”

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Legal counsel for the spa operators argued in court that their nudity policy is consistent with state laws and codes. 

“It is the spa’s position that the women sharing in this cultural and spiritual experience have associational and free exercise rights,” the spa’s attorney, Kevin Snider of Pacific Justice Institute, said during arguments Monday.

“It’s not really ‘biological women are welcome,’” McKeown also said on Monday, challenging Snider’s interpretation of the spa’s policy.

The state’s Human Rights Commission accused Olympus Spa of discrimination against a transgender woman in 2020. (Adobe Stock)

“It means nonbiological women are not welcome. I mean, that’s the reality.”

The remarks made in the hearing on Monday came after the state forced the spa to accept men if they identify as women. 

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The spa’s counter-lawsuit against the Human Rights Commission was struck down by a Washington-state judge last year. In an attempt to uphold their female-only policy, the spa argued that their Constitutional rights were violated.

Olympus Spa has locations in Tacoma and Lynnwood.