Kevin Spacey, still reeling from explosive allegations of sexual misconduct, has been banished from the last season of the Netflix original series “House of Cards.”
The news is the latest in a cascading fallout following allegations that Spacey had made sexual advances toward actor Anthony Rapp more than 30 years ago, when Rapp would’ve been 14 and Spacey would’ve been 26.
In a two-paragraph statement posted on social media at midnight Monday, Spacey did not only apologize for the encounter, which he said he did not remember; he also came out as gay, outraging members of the LGBT community who accused the actor of trying to deflect serious allegations of sexual misconduct against a minor.
Within the next 48 hours, Netflix and Media Rights Capital, the production company in charge of “House of Cards,” condemned Spacey’s alleged actions, announced that the upcoming sixth season of the series will be its last one and suspended production “until further notice.”
Creative Artists Agency and publicist Staci Wolfe announced on the same week that they are dropping Spacey as a client, the Los Angeles Times reported.
And CNN published a story about more allegations against the 58-year-old actor. Eight current and former employees of “House of Cards” told CNN that Spacey had engaged in a pattern of sexual harassment, making the show’s set a “toxic” work environment. A former production assistant accused Spacey of sexually assaulting him.
This prompted Netflix to drop Spacey altogether. Netflix said in its statement Friday that it will work with Media Rights Capital “during this hiatus time to evaluate our path forward as it relates to the show,” and that it will not release the film “Gore,” which stars Spacey and was in postproduction.
Netflix has said that the decision to end “House of Cards” after Season 6 was made months ago, although the announcement came right after Rapp’s explosive allegations were published late last month by BuzzFeed.
Rapp told BuzzFeed that the incident happened after a party at Spacey’s apartment in 1986. He told BuzzFeed that Spacey picked him up, placed him in bed and climbed on top of him.
“I came forward with my story, standing on the shoulders of the many courageous women and men who have been speaking out, to shine a light and hopefully make a difference, as they have done for me,” Rapp said on Twitter. “Everything I wanted to say about my experience is in that article, and I have no further comment about it at this time.”
In a response a few hours after the BuzzFeed story was published, Spacey said he was “beyond horrified” to hear the encounter, which he said “would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior.”
“This story has encouraged me to address other things about my life,” he wrote. “I have loved and had romantic encounters with men throughout my life, and I choose now to live as a gay man. I want to deal with this honestly and openly and that starts with examining my own behavior.”
The Washington Post was unable to reach a representative for Spacey. Earlier this week, Wolfe, Spacey’s former publicist, told media outlets that the actor is “taking the time necessary to seek evaluation and treatment.”
Spacey, who had received multiple Emmy nominations for his portrayal of Frank Underwood, a ruthless politician who forced himself into the presidency, is the latest Hollywood figure to be accused of sexual advances.
Dozens of actresses have gone public with allegations that Hollywood producer and former studio executive Harvey Weinstein either sexually harassed or assaulted them. Explosive reports by the New York Times and the New Yorker detailed previously undisclosed allegations of harassment and criminal sexual abuse that spanned several years. The Washington Post found three more similar cases.
Weinstein in now under criminal investigation.
Media figures, including former NBC analyst Mark Halperin, former New Republic publisher Hamilton Fish, former New Republic literary editor Leon Wieseltier and former NPR chief editor Michael Oreskes, all have recently resigned from their positions amid allegations of sexual harassment.
Amy B. Wang and Elahe Izadi contributed to this story.
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