Elton John and husband David Furnish testify in Kevin Spacey trial

The sexual assault trial of Kevin Spacey continued in London on Monday morning featuring some celebrity testimony. Elton John and his husband David Furnish were both called as witnesses for the defense. Their presence at the trial was in regard to the specific accusation that Spacey had grabbed the genitals of his driver so aggressively that the driver almost spun off the road.

John and Furnish became involved because the accuser claimed the incident happened in 2004 or 2005 on the way to their annual White Tie and Tiara Ball, a charity event that raised money for AIDS research. Per The Guardian, the singer testified that he remembered Spacey attending the event one time, and was not a guest at their home on any other occasion; he recalled that “he arrived in white tie, he came on a private jet and came straight to the ball.” Furnish further testified his belief that Spacey only attended in the year 2001, as the event was sponsored by OK! Magazine and there are only pictures of Spacey from that year. “To have a star of the magnitude of Kevin Spacey and to go to OK! and say he didn’t want to be photographed, that would be an impossible situation for the foundation to be in,” Furnish said. Both men appeared in court remotely on separate video feeds.

All this to say, neither John nor Furnish believes that Spacey attended the White Tie and Tiara Ball any other time, and specifically not in the timeframe that the accuser proposed. The incident in question is significant to the accuser’s testimony as he’s said that Spacey touched him without consent many times over the years, and the time he almost ran off the road was the final straw (per the AP).

For his part, Spacey previously admitted his relationship with the driver was “somewhat sexual,” though he has denied all accusations of any sexual contact without consent. Spacey testified that he was “crushed” that this man should make these accusations, saying he “never thought that (the man) I knew would… 20 years later stab me in the back.”