Kevin Spacey to pay $31m for House of Cards' losses

Kevin Spacey, seen here playing Frank Underwood in House of Cards, has been forced to pay the show's producers $31m in losses Photo: David Giesbrecht/Netflix

Kevin Spacey must pay the producers of House of Cards $31 million (£25.5 million) for losses related to allegations of sexual misconduct by the actor after losing an appeal over the amount.

Following "explosive" charges involving teenage crew members that led to his dismissal from the popular Netflix series in 2017, Spacey attempted to overturn an arbitration ruling compelling him to pay media company MRC damages.

According to records obtained by the Press Association, Los Angeles Judge Mel Red Recana determined that Spacey and his attorneys "fail to demonstrate that this is even a close case."

She added that the actor and his legal team failed to "demonstrate that the damages award was so irrational that it amounted to an arbitrary remaking of the parties' contracts."

After the verdict, Michael Kump, MCR's attorney, stated, "We are pleased with the court's decision."

The sixth season of House of Cards was cut short due to financial losses

Spacey, 63, starred in House of Cards for five seasons as the ruthless politician Frank Underwood; however, the Academy Award-winning actor's career abruptly ended in 2017 with many sexual misconduct allegations. He denies their claims.

Following allegations that Spacey "systematically" preyed upon and sexually assaulted young male personnel throughout his career, MRC stated in their complaint that it had to terminate Spacey, halt production of the show's sixth season, and rewrite it to remove Spacey's primary character.

According to court records, the media firm was obliged to reduce its sixth season from 13 to 8 episodes to fulfill deadlines, resulting in tens of millions of dollars in damages.

An arbitration process concluded that Spacey had frequently violated contractual responsibilities, including MRC's anti-harassment standards.

As a result of Spacey's firing, the show's sixth season was truncated and rewritten, and MRC suffered millions of dollars in lost revenue; the arbitrator determined that Spacey was not entitled to the remainder of his contract.

Spacey's attorneys argued in their filings that the decision to exclude him from the show's sixth season was made before the internal investigation that resulted in the staff members coming forward and was therefore not a breach of contract.

They maintained that the actor's actions did not significantly contribute to the show's financial losses.

Spacey appeared in a UK court last month to "vehemently" reject separate charges of sexually assaulting three men more than a decade ago when he was the director of London's Old Vic theatre.

He will stand trial next year.

Additionally, Spacey faces lawsuits from several men in America, including actor Anthony Rapp.

Publish : 2022-08-06 08:19:00

Give Your Comments