Following his firing by MRC Entertainment for sexual misconduct in 2017, the studio behind series such as Ozark, The Great, and House of Cards will receive a substantial damages payout from their former lead actor.
An arbitrator in the Los Angeles Superior Court found that Kevin Spacey disregarded his contractual requirement of maintaining professional workplace behaviour.
According to the document, Spacey was “engaging in certain conduct in connection with several crew members in each of the five seasons that he starred in and executive produced House of Cards.”
Following allegations of predatory conduct from fellow cast members, the studio was forced to fire the actor from House of Cards, re-write his character, delay production, and shorten the final season from 13 to eight episodes.
According to the document, these measures resulted in the loss of tens of millions of dollars for the studio.
Responding to the court’s decision, the company noted that “the safety of our employees, sets and work environments is of paramount importance to MRC and why we set out to push for accountability.”
Lawyers for Spacey contended that their client’s behaviour was not consequential in the production company’s losses.
Profitt Productions and Trigger Street Productions, both owned by Kevin Spacey were ordered to pay damages, legal fees, and costs to MRC, totalling approximately $42 million AUD.
The arbitration was first filed confidentially in 2019. Spacey then counter filed and alleged that MRC wrongfully terminated his House of Cards contract.
Following evidence from 20 people close to the matter, a 46-page ruling found in MRC’s favour, stating that “with one exception, the Arbitrator found the third party witnesses to be credible, and found the allegations against Spacey to be true.”
Lawyer for MRC Michael Kump concluded that “MRC stood its ground, pursued this case doggedly, and obtained the right result in the end.”
Help is available.
If you require immediate assistance, please call 000.
If you’d like to speak to someone about sexual violence, please call the 1800 Respect hotline on 1800 737 732 or chat online.
Under 25? You can reach Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800 or chat online.
