Obituary: Ari Behn, Danish-born writer who accused actor Kevin Spacey of misconduct

Ari Behn has died at the age of 47. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)

Scandinavian writer Ari Behn – the ex-husband of Norway’s Princess Martha Louise and among the people who had accused actor Kevin Spacey of sexual misconduct – died on Christmas Day. He was 47.

Behn died by suicide, his manager told the Norwegian news service NTB. Authorities said he was found at his home in Norway. The Norwegian royal family said in a written statement that Behn was “an important part of our family for many years and we carry warm and good memories of him with us”.

Behn, who was Danish-born, and Martha Louise, the oldest daughter of Norway’s King Harald and Queen Sonja, were married for 14 years. The couple divorced in 2017 and have three children.

The match had critics before it even became official. Negative coverage dogged Behn after a Las Vegas travelogue he hosted on Norwegian TV in the early 2000s briefly showed him around prostitutes, some of them using cocaine.

Behn said at the time that it was mere reporting, not endorsement, and Martha Louise defended him.

Behn also wrote books and plays, including 1999’s Trist som faen, or Sad as Hell, a short story collection that was translated into several languages.

In 2017, Behn accused Spacey of groping him under the table at a Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo a decade earlier. It didn’t appear that Behn ever pursued criminal charges or a lawsuit against Spacey.

PHILIP MARCELO