Series suspended amid new sex claim
New York: A Mexican actor became the latest to accuse Kevin Spacey of sexual harassment, predicting more such claims would emerge as Netflix suspended production of the two-time Oscar winner’s hit series House of Cards.
Roberto Cavazos, who acted in several plays at London’s Old Vic theatre when Spacey was artistic director there from 2004 to 2015, said the Hollywood star routinely preyed on young male actors.
“It seems the only requirement was to be a male under the age of 30 for Mr Spacey to feel free to touch us,” he wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
The accusation echoed the claim made on Sunday by American actor Anthony Rapp, who said Spacey made a “sexual advance” on him at a party in 1986, when he was 14 and Spacey was 26.
Responding to the allegation – and the outraged backlash in its wake – Netflix announced it has suspended production of the sixth season of House of Cards, the award-winning political drama starring Spacey.
The suspension was “until fur- ther notice, to give us time to review the current situation and to address any concerns of our cast and crew”, said Netflix and producer Media Rights Capital.
Season six, which Netflix had already confirmed on Monday would be the final edition of its flagship production, had been scheduled to air in 2018.
Spacey, 58, came under a torrent of criticism over the claims and for appearing to deflect the story by finally confirming that he is gay – an open secret in Hollywood for years.