{"id":2456,"date":"2019-12-26T18:26:25","date_gmt":"2019-12-26T22:26:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=2456"},"modified":"2019-12-26T18:26:25","modified_gmt":"2019-12-26T22:26:25","slug":"was-the-former-norwegian-royal-just-suicided-to-protect-kevin-spacey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=2456","title":{"rendered":"Was the former Norwegian royal just suicided to protect Kevin Spacey?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Kevin Spacey accuser Ari Behn dies by suicide on Christmas<\/h1>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h3>The ex-husband of Norwegian Princess Martha Louise was 47.<\/p>\n<p>By Stephanie Petit<\/h3>\n<p><iframe src=\"\/\/players.brightcove.net\/219646971\/default_default\/index.html?videoId=5635235536001\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Ari Behn, an author who married into Norway\u2019s royal family and accused Kevin Spacey of groping him at a concert, died by suicide on Christmas Day. He was 47.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s with great sorrow in our hearts that we, those closest to Ari Behn, must report that he took his own life today,\u201d Geir H\u00e5konsund, Behn\u2019s manager, said in a statement to <a class=\"external-link\" title=\"(opens new window)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vg.no\/rampelys\/i\/P92aXR\/ari-behn-er-doed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" aria-describedby=\"external-disclaimer\">Norwegian newspaper <em>VG<\/em><\/a>. \u201cWe ask for respect for our private lives in the time to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Behn was <a class=\"external-link\" title=\"(opens new window)\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/royals\/princess-martha-louise-of-norway-divorces-husband\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" aria-describedby=\"external-disclaimer\">married<\/a> to Princess Martha Louise of Norway, 48, for 14 years before officially divorcing in 2016. They share three daughters: Maud Angelica, 16, Leah Isadora, 14, and Emma Tallulah, 11.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement issued Wednesday, Princess Martha Louise\u2019s parents, King Harald and Queen Sonja, said Behn was \u201can important part of our family for many years, and we carry warm, fond memories of him,\u201d according to <a class=\"external-link\" title=\"(opens new window)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/europe\/ari-behn-death-age-martha-louise-kevin-spacey-children-norway-royal-family-a9260271.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" aria-describedby=\"external-disclaimer\"><em>The Independent<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-sm-highImpact \"><\/div>\n<div class=\"component inline image margin-32-tb\">\n<div class=\"image-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"component lazy-image no-upscale rendered image-loaded\" data-high-density=\"true\" data-src=\"https:\/\/ewedit.files.wordpress.com\/2019\/12\/ari-behn.jpg\" data-alt=\"\" data-title=\"\" data-shop-image=\"false\" data-width=\"1024\" data-height=\"812\" data-tracking-zone=\"image\">\n<div class=\"inner-container js-inner-container image-overlay\"><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/imagesvc.meredithcorp.io\/v3\/mm\/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fewedit.files.wordpress.com%2F2019%2F12%2Fari-behn.jpg&amp;w=1050&amp;c=sc&amp;poi=face&amp;q=85\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"component inline image margin-32-tb\">\n<div class=\"image-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"component lazy-image no-upscale rendered image-loaded\" data-high-density=\"true\" data-src=\"https:\/\/ewedit.files.wordpress.com\/2019\/12\/ari-behn.jpg\" data-alt=\"\" data-title=\"\" data-shop-image=\"false\" data-width=\"1024\" data-height=\"812\" data-tracking-zone=\"image\">\n<div class=\"image-wrap-container clearfix\">\n<div class=\"credit body-credit padding-8-top padding-8-bottom\">Dominique Charriau\/WireImage<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe are grateful that we got to know him. We grieve that our grandchildren have now lost their beloved father \u2014 and have deep compassion for his parents and siblings, who have now lost their beloved son and brother,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n<p>H\u00e5konsund and the palace did not immediately return PEOPLE\u2019s requests for comment.<\/p>\n<p>The Royal Palace previously announced that the king and queen would be celebrating the Christmas holiday with Princess Martha Louise at their lodge near Oslo.<\/p>\n<p>Princess Martha Louise, who is now dating American \u201c<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">spiritual guide\u201d to the stars<\/a> <a>Shaman Durek<\/a>, has not released a statement on her ex-husband\u2019s death.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are human,\u201d Princess Martha Louise <a class=\"external-link\" title=\"(opens new window)\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/royals\/princess-martha-louise-of-norway-divorces-husband\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" aria-describedby=\"external-disclaimer\">said while announcing their divorce in August 2016<\/a>, adding the couple had tried \u201ceverything in their power to make the marriage work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s unspeakably sad for both of us to discover that the road ahead doesn\u2019t run as it once did. Like so many others, we\u2019ve grown apart. We\u2019ve tried everything over a long period of time \u2026 but it\u2019s impossible for us to go on,\u201d the royal said.<\/p>\n<p>Behn \u2014 who worked as an author and wrote three novels, three short story collections and three plays, according to his <a class=\"external-link\" title=\"(opens new window)\" href=\"https:\/\/aribehn.com\/ari-behn\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" aria-describedby=\"external-disclaimer\">website<\/a> \u2014 previously accused Spacey of groping him at a concert for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. The writer spoke to radio station P4 about the incident in 2017, according to the <a class=\"external-link\" title=\"(opens new window)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/entertainment-arts-42284021\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" aria-describedby=\"external-disclaimer\">BBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had a great talk, he sat right beside me. After five minutes, he said, \u2018Hey, let\u2019s go out and have a cigarette.\u2019 Then he puts his hand under the table and grabs me by the balls,\u201d Behn said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEr, maybe later,\u201d Behn said he told Spacey, now 60.<\/p>\n<p>Behn added: \u201cMy hair was dark at the time, I was 10 years younger and right up his alley.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Spacey \u2014 who has largely disappeared from the public eye after more than a dozen men made sexual misconduct allegations against him, all of which he has denied \u2014 did not respond to Behn\u2019s allegation at the time. A rep for Spacey did not immediately return PEOPLE\u2019s request for comment in the wake of Behn\u2019s death.<\/p>\n<p>In July of this year, it was revealed that Spacey\u2019s sexual assault criminal\u00a0<a class=\"external-link\" title=\"(opens new window)\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/tv\/prosecutors-drop-kevin-spacey-criminal-sexual-assault-case-due-to-accuser-unavailability\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" aria-describedby=\"external-disclaimer\">case in Massachusetts had been dropped<\/a>, PEOPLE confirmed. According to court documents, the former actor will not be prosecuted after he was accused of groping a young man at a Nantucket bar in 2016.<\/p>\n<p>___<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/celebrity\/2019\/12\/26\/ari-behn-dead-kevin-spacey-accuser\/\">https:\/\/ew.com\/celebrity\/2019\/12\/26\/ari-behn-dead-kevin-spacey-accuser\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kevin Spacey accuser Ari Behn dies by suicide on Christmas<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2456"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}