Credits roll on Spacey TV show
NEW YORK — The fallout facing Kevin Spacey widened on Monday following an accusation that he allegedly made sexual advances toward a teenage boy, with Netflix pulling the plug on his hit show House of Cards and “deeply troubled” producers of the political thriller arriving on set to comfort cast mates.
Executives from Netflix and the show’s producer, Media Rights Capital, said they arrived in Baltimore, where the show is shot, on Monday afternoon to make sure actors and crew “continue to feel safe and supported”. Spacey was not scheduled to be on set.
Though the decision to end the series was announced on Monday, the decision to end the series was made several months ago, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the decision.
In an interview published by BuzzFeed News on Sunday, actor Anthony Rapp alleged that he was attending a party at Spacey’s apartment in 1986 when an inebriated 26-year-old Spacey picked him up, placed him on his bed and climbed on top of him. Rapp, then 14, was able to get away without any physical harm.
Spacey responded on Twitter by saying he doesn’t remember the alleged encounter but if he acted the way Rapp alleges, “I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior.”
The two-paragraph statement — an apology in the first for a 31-year-old alleged assault and a self-outing in the second — struck many as an odd time for Spacey to address his sexuality or even an attempt to deflect blame.
Musician Lance Bass wrote on Twitter: “Being gay should never be equated with sexual assault or pedophilia. Thanks for giving the homophobes more ammo.”