‘House of Cards’ filming halted amid Kevin Spacey allegation
LOS ANGELES — The suspension of filming on “House of Cards” Tuesday in response to allegations star Kevin Spacey made sexual advances on a teen boy is a rare move in an industry that puts commerce first.
Shows are infrequently derailed by concerns other than their ratings performance, said TV historian and former network executive Tim Brooks.
“It usually depends on how popular the show is, not to put too fine a point on it,” Brooks said Tuesday.
How Spacey’s cast mates are reacting to him and the allegations remains to be seen. Robin Wright, who stars opposite Spacey as his wife, hasn’t commented publicly, but her Twitter feed includes a number of posts backing social issues including female rights and education.
Netflix and “House of Cards” producer Media Rights Capital had already decided to end the series at the end of next season, its sixth, but on Tuesday they chose to pause the production, which is filmed in Baltimore, “to give us time to review the current situation and to address any concerns of our cast and crew.” Spacey was not scheduled to work that day.
The move comes after actor Anthony Rapp came forward with claims Spacey made inappropriate sexual advances toward him in 1986, when he was 14.
Spacey responded 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.” He also spoke publicly for the first time about being gay, which drew backlash from some observers as an attempt at deflection.