‘House Of Cards’ Producers Admit Kevin Spacey Investigated For “Incident” On Netflix Series
Days after allegations of unwanted sexual advances in 1986 by Kevin Spacey against then-14-year-old Anthony Rapp led to the indefinite suspension of production on House of Cards, producers Media Rights Capital and Netflix both confirmed today there was at least one investigated incident with the Oscar winner on the set of the political drama.
Though Netflix says it “is not aware of any other incidents involving Kevin Spacey on-set,” MRC has set up an an “anonymous complaint hotline, crisis counselors, and sexual harassment legal advisors for the crew” of the multiple Emmy nominated series. “MRC will continue to thoroughly investigate all current claims and any new claims that are formally brought to our attention,” they added.
That’s now, but it turns out there was a claim during the making of Season 1 of House of Cards.
“During our first year of production in 2012, someone on the crew shared a complaint about a specific remark and gesture made by Kevin Spacey,” MRC said Thursday after CNN unveiled several claims by HoC crew members about sexually harassing and aggressive behavior by the actor. “Immediate action was taken following our review of the situation and we are confident the issue was resolved promptly to the satisfaction of all involved,” the producing and financing company added.
In remarks that now seem odd, House of Cards creator and former showrunner Beau Willimon said on October 30 on social media that he “neither witnessed nor was aware of any inappropriate behavior on set or off” during the several seasons he and star Spacey worked together.
In the context of House of Cards now seemingly over even before the Season 6 conclusion was announced the day after Star Trek Discovery actor Rapp’s claims went public on October 29, another bombshell is that Spacey went through a “training” session on such inappropriate behavior – a fact never reveled until now by either MRC or Netflix. “Mr. Spacey willingly participated in a training process and since that time MRC has not been made aware of any other complaints involving Mr. Spacey,” MRC said in their statement.
In a statement of their own on Thursday, Netflix confirmed their recent knowledge of the incident as the fallout from Rapp’s accusations grew. “When the allegations broke about Kevin Spacey on Sunday night, in conjunction with MRC, we sent a representative to set on Monday morning,” the streaming service asserts today. “Netflix was just made aware of one incident, five years ago, that we were informed was resolved swiftly.”
Mere hours after Rapp’s claims went public, Spacey issued a statement of his own saying he does not recall the incident over 30-years ago that supposedly occurred in his NYC apartment but that he was “horrified” by the story. That apology of sorts was overshadowed and tainted in the minds of many when the HoC actor and EP also used the occasion to announce that he now chooses “to live as a gay man.”
Just over 12-hours later, a “deeply troubled” Netflix officially pulled the plug on any more seasons of HoC beyond a Season 6 next year. Then that died on the vine within 24-hours when the streamer then announced it had shut production down on the Maryland-based show that once was its crown jewel.
See the full statements from MRC and Netflix below:
MRC statement:
We are deeply troubled to learn about these new allegations that are being made to the press concerning Kevin Spacey’s interaction with members of the crew of House of Cards. As the producer of the show, creating and maintaining a safe working environment for our cast and crew has always been our top priority. We have consistently reinforced the importance of employees reporting any incident without fear of retaliation and we have investigated and taken appropriate actions following any complaints. For example, during our first year of production in 2012, someone on the crew shared a complaint about a specific remark and gesture made by Kevin Spacey. Immediate action was taken following our review of the situation and we are confident the issue was resolved promptly to the satisfaction of all involved. Mr. Spacey willingly participated in a training process and since that time MRC has not been made aware of any other complaints involving Mr. Spacey.In response to the current situation, on Tuesday of this week, MRC installed an anonymous complaint hotline, crisis counselors, and sexual harassment legal advisors for the crew. MRC will continue to thoroughly investigate all current claims and any new claims that are formally brought to our attention, and will continue to monitor our own production and practices to ensure that our cast and crew feel safe and supported.”
Netflix statement:
“When the allegations broke about Kevin Spacey on Sunday night, in conjunction with MRC, we sent a representative to set on Monday morning. Netflix was just made aware of one incident, five years ago, that we were informed was resolved swiftly. On Tuesday, in collaboration with MRC, we suspended production, knowing that Kevin Spacey wasn’t scheduled to work until Wednesday. Netflix is not aware of any other incidents involving Kevin Spacey on-set. We continue to collaborate with MRC and other production partners to maintain a safe and respectful working environment. We will continue to work with MRC during this hiatus time to evaluate our path forward as it relates to the production, and have nothing further to share at this time.”
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