Spacey given his final cards
Netflix parts with actor facing several investigations.
Netflix has officially parted ways with House of Cards star Kevin Spacey amid mounting claims of sexual assault and harassment.
The streaming giant also announced it has cancelled the Gore Vidal biopic, which was set to star the embattled actor.
“Netflix will not be involved with any further production of House of Cards that includes Kevin Spacey,” a spokesman for Netflix said.
“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.”
Earlier, it was reported that the producers of House of Cards are considering killing off Spacey’s character, the villainous Frank Underwood, and have the show’s sixth and final season concentrate on his equally manipulative wife Claire, played by Robin Wright, according to insiders.
The producers are also cognisant of the fact that 300 cast and crew members are employed by the series and would be put out of work if the sixth season does not move forward.
The feeling is that they did nothing wrong and should not be penalised for Spacey’s behaviour. The show has just started filming, so Spacey’s character could be safely written out without too many logistical hurdles.
The idea to continue without Spacey may have picked up steam after actress Jessica Chastain tweeted “Can #RobinWright just be the lead of @HouseofCards now? We’re ready for it.”
Production on House of Cards season six was suspended on Tuesday, two days after actor Anthony Rapp alleged Spacey had sexually assaulted him when the Star Trek: Discovery and Rent star was 14 years old.
On Thursday, Spacey was dropped as a client by CAA and his publicist, Staci Wolfe. On Friday, Scotland Yard opened an investigation into Spacey in response to an allegation that he sexually assaulted a male actor in London.
Spokespeople for Netflix and Media Rights Capital declined to comment.