Netflix has severed all ties with Kevin Spacey — including “House of Cards” — after several men came forward to accuse the Oscar winner of sexual misconduct.
“Netflix will not be involved with any further production of ‘House of Cards’ that includes Kevin Spacey. We will continue to work with MRC during this hiatus time to evaluate our path forward as it relates to the show. We have also decided we will not be moving forward with the release of the film ‘Gore,’ which was in post-production, starring and produced by Kevin Spacey,” Netflix said in a statement, referencing a planned Gore Vidal biopic.
Though several outlets, including TheWrap, initially reported that Netflix had fired Spacey, a person close to the situation clarified that only “House of Cards” studio Media Right Capital could fire the actor, since MRC is his employer on the series. MRC said it had “suspended” Spacey from the series pending “the ongoing investigation into the serious allegations.”
“While we continue the ongoing investigation into the serious allegations concerning Kevin Spacey’s behavior on the set of ‘House of Cards,’ he has been suspended, effective immediately,” the company said in a statement. “MRC, in partnership with Netflix, will continue to evaluate a creative path forward for the program during the hiatus.”
On Friday, CNN reported that eight people who work or have worked on “House of Cards” said Spacey had created a “toxic” work environment through a pattern of sexual harassment. Spacey did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.
That news came after several damaging reports about Spacey.
On Sunday, “Star Trek: Discovery” actor Anthony Rapp told BuzzFeed that Spacey made a sexual advance on him in 1986, when Rapp was only 14.
Spacey apologized to Rapp in a statement in which he said he didn’t remember the events Rapp described — and came out as gay. Critics like GLAAD called it an attempt to use his sexuality to “deflect from allegations of sexual assault.”
Multiple other people came forward to accuse Spacey of sexual harassment and assault in the following days, including a former child actor who said that as a 14-year-old, he’d had a sexual relationship with Spacey, who later tried to rape him.
After Rapp’s accusations were made public, Netflix announced that “House of Cards” would end after the upcoming season 6. A day later, production on “House of Cards” season 6 was halted indefinitely so Netflix and MRC could “review” the situation. The final fate of the series, and its just-announced spinoff, is unknown.
Netflix is only the latest entity to break ties with Spacey. The actor was dropped by both his power talent agency CAA and his publicist, Staci Wolfe, on Thursday night. And on Monday, the Television Academy revoked the Emmy Founders Award he was slated to receive at the International Emmy Awards Gala in New York on Nov. 20. A reference to Spacey was also removed from this week’s episode of “This Is Us.”