‘Cards’ nixed; Spacey slammed
Initial response to claims of unwanted sexual advances criticized
NEW YORK — The fallout facing Kevin Spacey widened Monday following an accusation that he made sexual advances on a teen 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 castmates.
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 on Monday.
Though the decision to end the series was announced Monday, it was made several months ago, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the decision.
Spacey is the latest Hollywood man to be named in widening allegations of sexual harassment and abuse in entertainment, media and other industries.
On Monday, NBC fired political journalist Mark Halperin after multiple allegations of sexual harassment, and The New Republic said it had launched an investigation after publisher and president Hamilton Fish was accused of harassing women.
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.”
Spacey then said Rapp’s story “encouraged” him to address long-simmering rumors about his sexuality. He wrote that he’s had romantic relationships with both men and women in the past but is now living “as a gay man” and wanted to be honest so he could examine “my own behavior.” Requests for comment went unanswered Monday.
The two-paragraph statement — an apology for a 31-year-old alleged assault and a self-outing — struck many as an odd time for Spacey to address his sexuality or even an attempt to deflect blame. Worse, he seemed to make a connection between being gay and sexual abuse of minors.
Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of the gay rights group GLAAD, said in a statement that the story was really about unwanted sexual advances on Rapp, not Spacey’s sexuality. “Coming out stories should not be used to deflect from allegations of sexual assault,” she said.