Twelve hours after allegations emerged of Kevin Spacey’s unwanted sexual advances, Netflix announced it will cancel House of Cards.
Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp accused the Oscar winner of attempting to “seduce” him as a 14-year-old boy in 1986.
He claims Spacey invited him over to his apartment for a party (while they were both working on Broadway), and, at the end of the night, the then 26-year-old picked him up, placed him on his bed, and climbed on top of him, making a sexual advance.
“I was aware that he was trying to get with me sexually,” he told Buzzfeed.
“My stomach churns… I still to this day can’t wrap my head around so many aspects of it. It’s just deeply confusing to me.”
Spacey took to Twitter to say he did not remember the encounter with Rapp, but if he did as he claims then it “would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behaviour”.
— Kevin Spacey (@KevinSpacey) October 30, 2017
Now Netflix has decided to can the popular program after the upcoming sixth season.
In a joint statement, Netflix and production company Media Rights Capital said they are “deeply troubled” by the allegation.
“Media Rights Capital and Netflix are deeply troubled by last night’s news concerning Kevin Spacey,” the statement reads.
“In response to last night’s revelations, executives from both of our companies arrived in Baltimore this afternoon to meet with our cast and crew to ensure that they continue to feel safe and supported. As previously scheduled, Kevin Spacey is not working on set at this time.”
However Netflix spokeswoman Karen Barragan denied the sexual harassment claims levelled at Spacey had anything to do with the decision to terminate the show.
