Netflix Severs Ties With Kevin Spacey
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) – Netflix is severing ties with Kevin Spacey.
The decision comes days after Netflix halted production of its popular series "House of Cards" amid sexual harassment and assault allegations made against the star.
"Netflix will not be involved with any further production of House of Cards that includes Kevin Spacey. We will continue to work with MRC during this hiatus time to evaluate our path forward as it relates to the show," the company said in a statement Friday night.
Over the weekend, actor Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of making a sexual advance while Rapp was only 14 years old.
In an interview with BuzzFeed, Rapp said Spacey met and befriended him while they both performed on Broadway in 1986. Rapp said Spacey first invited him and a friend to the old Limelight nightclub, and then invited him to a party at his Manhattan apartment a few days later.
Rapp told BuzzFeed he was bored at the party and ended up watching TV in the bedroom until past midnight – but then Spacey walked in after everyone else had left.
"My memory was that I thought, 'Oh, everybody's gone. Well, yeah, I should probably go home,'" Rapp was quoted. Rapp said Spacey "sort of stood in the doorway, kind of swaying. My impression when he came in the room was that he was drunk."
Rapp said he did not remember Spacey saying anything, but said Spacey "picked me up like a groom picks up the bride over the threshold. But I don't, like, squirm away initially, because I'm like, 'What's going on?' And then he lays down on top of me."
Rapp told BuzzFeed he pushed Spacey off him and went on to leave the apartment.
Spacey said he was "beyond horrified" by the allegations and tweeted an apology, which was met with huge backlash.
The two-time Oscar winner posted on Twitter that he doesn't remember the encounter. "But if I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior, and I am sorry for the feelings he describes having carried with him all these years," he said.
In his tweeted statement, Spacey said: "This story has encouraged me to address other things about my life. I know that there are stories out there about me and that some have been fueled by the fact that I have been so protective of my privacy. As those closest to me know, in my life I have had relationships with both men and women. I have loved and had romantic encounters with men throughout my life, and I choose now to live as a gay man."
Eight current or former "House of Cards" workers claim Spacey made the production a "toxic" workplace, and one ex-employee alleges the actor sexually assaulted him, CNN reported Thursday.
Spacey has been the star of the show since it debuted in 2013.
Netflix also said it will not release the film "Gore," starring and produced by Spacey, which was in post-production.
His publicist said earlier this week that Spacey is "taking the time necessary to seek evaluation and treatment."
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
