Kevin Spacey Ordered to Pay $31M To House of Cards Production Firm

The dispute between actor Kevin Spacey and the production outfit behind the Netflix show “House Of Cards” came to a head Monday.

An arbitrator ordered the canceled actor almost $31 million to Media Rights Capital. Spacey starred in “House of Cards” for five seasons before getting terminated over contract breaches in 2017. 

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Kevin Spacey To Pay $31 Million To ‘House Of Cards” Production Company

In a petition filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, MRC asked the court to confirm the $31 award due to them.

It requested the court to “confirm the award in its favor” as well as enter the judgment against Spacey. The actor nor his representatives have yet to comment on the judgment. 

Previously, MRC accused the actor of repeatedly breaching his “contractual obligations” while starring in the Netflix political drama series.

Due to numerous accusations of sexual harassment, the company had to suspend Spacey. Eventually, Netflix terminated Spacey’s contract with the streaming company.

MRC then had to rewrite episodes to remove him from the story. Eventually, they had to write off his character from the show.

Then, the company had to reduce the number of episodes for the sixth season from 13 to 8 to meet deadlines. As a result of Spacey’s behavior, MRC suffered monetary losses. 

House of Cards Suffered Due to Kevin Spacey’s Behavior Offscreen

House of Cards, where Spacey starred as the congressman turned president Frank Underwood, started as a top Netflix draw. It won 33 Primetime Emmy award nominations.

This included Outstanding Drama Series for the show and Outstanding Lead Actor for Spacey. MRC said that Spacey’s behavior and eventual fall from grace ruined the drama series.

Nobody wanted to continue supporting a show featuring the actor. “MRC had no knowledge whatsoever of any such conduct by Spacey with any cast or crew associated with the Show,” the filing states.

As a result, MRC said that Spacey cost them the show. Spacey’s behavior “rendered him (and his affiliated entities) liable” for the millions of dollars lost by the production company.

Prior to the actor’s suspension in 2017, CNN reported that several current and former members of the production crew accused Spacey of sexual harassment. One individual accused the actor, who also worked as an executive producer, of sexual assault. 

Kevin Spacey Accused of Sexual Advances On A Minor

Earlier, actor Anthony Rapp told BuzzFeed News that Spacey made sexual advances at him during a 1986 party when he was 14 years old.

When MRC found out, the company halted production “to address any concerns of the show's cast and crew” in wake of the allegations.  

Meanwhile, Spacey issued a statement claiming he did not recall the incident. Instead, he apologized for  what he said was possible “deeply inappropriate drunken behavior.”

The fallout from Spacey’s actions reverberated across his career. Apart from Netflix severing all ties with him, he faced a slew of cancellations from all his current movie and TV projects.

Organizers canceled a planned 2017 International Emmy Founders Awards ceremony. In addition, his talent representation and his publicist announced they ended their professional relationships with him. 

Watch the US News video reporting that actor Kevin Spacey must pay $31m for breaching the House Of Cards deal:

Did you watch “House of Cards” or any other movie featuring Kevin Spacey? Were you aware of his offscreen behavior while enjoying his films? Did your opinion of him as an actor change because of his actions?

Let us know what you think. Share your thoughts on Kevin Spacey in the comments section below.