Hollywood star Kevin Spacey’s personal life has provided explosive fodder for heated debates. In 2017, the actor’s name first came up during the Harvey Weinstein scandal which then led to a domino effect of accusations where over 30 young men incriminated him in cases of s*xual assault and inappropriate behavior.
While Spacey coming out as gay sparked more negative reactions from the LGBTQ+ community regarding his actions, his professional life took a huge hit with House of Cards producers MRC ending their contract with him ahead of the final season of the show. Despite claiming his innocence and also being acquitted in court of all charges, the Oscar winner will now pay an additional $1 million to MRC to settle claims of his alleged s*xual misconduct towards young male staffers in the show.
Kevin Spacey’s Debt To House Of Cards Producers Is Still Not Over
The light at the end of the tunnel just got duller for Kevin Spacey. The Usual Suspects star who was found not guilty on all 9 counts of s*xual assault against 4 men in July 2023, is now facing a further dent in his pocket. Spacey who has continued to vouch for his innocence despite shocking claims of having s*xually harassed over 30 men, is now doing damage control once more with a production company that gave him one of his biggest successes.
MRC is the brain behind the widely popular House of Cards starring Spacey as the vile and morally corrupt American President Francis Underwood. Following the accusations against the American Beauty star in 2017, the company let go of Spacey for the final season and won a $31 million judgment against the star in order to recover the costs of completely starting over.
In the latest news reported by Variety, Spacey will compensate MRC further by another $1 million for his alleged s*xual acts towards young male staffers in the House of Cards. These men were also among the victims who spoke up in 2017 about the celebrity’s disturbing advances towards them. Spacey now being involved in another settlement does not paint a great picture for his steadfast stance of innocence and his not guilty verdict. MRC is expected to collect its dues from the star in installments over multiple years.
Why House Of Cards Went On Without Kevin Spacey
While House of Cards attained glory on the shoulders of Kevin Spacey’s dark and corrupt Francis Underwood, the show was also about Robin Wright’s steely First Lady Claire Underwood whose moral code was probably even more blurred than her husband. Together, both actors were instrumental in elevating the series over 5 seasons.
Unfortunately, Spacey’s firing from the show following accusations of s*xual assault threw production company MRC into the deep end with the final season already having been greenlit. But the show must go on, as the saying goes, and Robin Wright for one, believed in this mantra. In an interview with The Telegraph following Spacey’s exit, Wright spoke about why House of Cards needed to complete the final season as planned despite the infamy created by her co-star’s actions.
“It would have put hundreds of people out of a job, with no severance probably. Absolutely not! It was just unacceptable in my mind for the show not to continue.”
True to her words, the series soldiered on towards the final season with the plotlines being modified to put Wright front and center this time around as the First woman President of the USA. Unfortunately, the show did not get the desired response from audiences and critics who felt that it lacked the punch delivered by Spacey’s presence.
