Netflix suspends ‘House of Cards’ production after Kevin Spacey allegations
Posted October 31, 2017 8:54 am.
Last Updated October 31, 2017 11:16 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
NEW YORK, N.Y. – Netflix and the maker of “House of Cards” say production on the show starring Kevin Spacey is suspended.
The political satire is filming its sixth and final season amid fallout from a 1980s sexual abuse allegation leveled at Spacey by a former child star.
In a joint statement Tuesday, Netflix and producer Media Rights Capital say production was put on hold to review the situation and address “any concerns of our cast and crew.”
Netflix had already announced yesterday that it was pulling the plug on “House of Cards” after the sixth season.
Meanwhile, the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has revoked an award it was going to give Kevin Spacey, a decision made after allegations that he made sexual advances on a teen boy. The group says “”it will not honour Kevin Spacey with the 2017 International Emmy Founders Award.”
The award is to honour “an individual who crosses cultural boundaries to touch humanity.” Spacey was to get it at a gala on Nov. 20 in New York City. Past recipients include Steven Spielberg, Shonda Rhimes and J.J. Abrams.
Actor Anthony Rapp came forward this past weekend with claims Spacey made inappropriate sexual advances toward him in 1986, when he was 14.
In an interview with BuzzFeed, Rapp said Spacey befriended him while they both performed on Broadway shows. Rapp was 14 when he attended a party at Spacey’s apartment in 1986, he said. At the end of the night, an inebriated Spacey picked him up, placed him on his bed, and climbed on top of him, Rapp said.
Rapp said the 26-year-old was holding him down tightly, but he was able to get away and left the apartment.
Spacey took to Twitter, saying he is “beyond horrified” by the allegations, adding that he doesn’t remember the encounter. “But if I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behaviour, and I am sorry for the feelings he describes having carried with him all these years,” he said.
