Streaming giant Netflix has officially cut its ties with Kevin Spacey, announcing today that he will no longer be a part of House Of Cards and cancelling the release of his upcoming Gore Vidal biopic, entitled Gore.
The news comes as accusations of sexual assault and misconduct continue to mount against the actor, with Star Trek: Discovery star Anthony Rapp being the first of many to come forward with disturbing allegations.
In a statement to the media, a representative for the streaming service said:
“Netflix will not be involved with any further production of House of Cards that includes Kevin Spacey. We will continue to work with [production company Media Rights Capital] during this hiatus time to evaluate our path forward as it relates to the show. We have also decided we will not be moving forward with the release of the film Gore, which was in post-production, starring and produced by Kevin Spacey.”
Earlier this week, Netflix announced that production on the sixth season of House Of Cards would be suspended “until further notice”, until it and production partner MRC had time to review the situation around Spacey and consider their options.
According to Variety, producers are currently “poring over” Kevin Spacey’s contracts to see if it is possible for the show to proceed without him, worrying that hundreds of cast and crew employed by the series will be out of work if it completely shuts down.
There has already been talk of a potential spin-off series set in the House Of Cards universe, but some have even suggested that the show might kill off Spacey’s Frank Underwood character off-screen, and make Robin Wright‘s Claire Underwood the focus of a new season.
Can #RobinWright just be the lead of @HouseofCards now? We’re ready for it.
— Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) November 3, 2017
Earlier today, the New York Times reported that Kevin Spacey’s publicist Staci Wolfe had dropped him as a client, while the talent agency CAA has also cut ties with him.
Various production staff associated with House Of Cards have come forward with claims of sexual misconduct against Spacey, while an anonymous man aged in his 40s recently alleged that he was in a sexual relationship with the then-24-year-old actor at the age of 14.
Scotland Yard is currently investigating an allegation by an unnamed British actor that Spacey sexually assaulted him in 2008, when he held the position of Artistic Director at the Old Vic theater in London, a post he held from 2004 to 2015.
Spacey stars in Ridley Scott‘s upcoming All The Money In The World, donning layers of prosthetics and age makeup to play oil tycoon J. Paul Getty.
As yet, the film’s distributors have no announced any changes to its release schedule, but a campaign to push Spacey for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar has been shelved.
