Actor Kevin Spacey was sentenced to pay $ 31 million in damages to production company MCR for the cancellation of the “House of Cards” series, in which he starred between 2013 and 2017.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mel Red Recana ruled that the actor caused damage to the company for his behavior, which by harassing members of the production created a sex scandal responsible for Netflix’s decision to end the award-winning series.
The ruling was second instance, confirming a previous first instance decision by another magistrate, in October 2020, which sentenced Spacey to compensate MCR for $ 29.5 million, plus another R $ 1.5 million. $ of damages. court costs and expenses.
According to the two judges’ assessment, Spacey has repeatedly breached its contractual obligations to provide services “professionally” and “consistent with MCR’s guidelines, practices and reasonable policies.”
Due to Spacey, the production company had to stop filming the show’s sixth season, rewrite the season, and shorten it from 13 to eight episodes to meet the deadline. Additionally, Netflix chose to cancel the series after the scandal.
Spacey even claimed he was entitled to compensation because it was MRC and Netflix’s decision to fire him – i.e. not his conduct – that caused him financial losses. Impossible to convince.
Production of “House of Cards” was halted two days after Spacey’s first sexual harassment complaint came to light in October 2017, when actor Anthony Rapp (“Star Trek: Discovery”) revealed that the President Francis Underwood’s interpreter tried to abuse him when he was 14, in 1986. Since then, complaints against the actor have multiplied and the attraction’s employees have lost their fear of accusing him. Among the complainants was a production assistant who accused the actor of groping him without his consent.
In addition to firing the star of “House of Cards,” Netflix also canceled the release of Gore Vidal’s biopic, “Gore,” starring and produced by Spacey, which was already in post-production.
Another damage caused by the actor was the remake of “All the Money in the World”. Director Ridley Scott decided to remake part of the film to remove the actor from the film, which was already over when the scandal broke. He was replaced by Christopher Plummer, who was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of him.
Spacey was also investigated by agents from the Los Angeles Department of Child Abuse and Sexual Crimes, who collected a total of six reports. The statute of limitations and lack of evidence prevented all cases from going to trial. For this reason, he was not convicted and even joked in a video from 2019 that “it has been a very good year”.
Although “House of Cards” was canceled, Spacey continued to post videos with his character in the United States, going so far as to confront his situation with people who lost their jobs during the pandemic.
Recently, he was again charged with sexual harassment and abuse, in a trial that began this year in England. In the preliminary hearing, he pleaded “not guilty”.
Source: Terra
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
