Netflix ‘cuts ties’ with Kevin Spacey amid sexual assault allegations

Netflix has announced it won’t be moving with any version of House of Cards that includes Kevin Spacey.

The streaming service cut ties with the actor in the early hours of Saturday morning amid allegations of sexual assault against him. They also confirmed that they would be canceling the Gore Vidal biopic, Gore, which Spacey was set to star in. The company said in a statement to Variety:

“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. “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.”

Meanwhile, producer Media Rights Capital suspended Spacey from the production. A source told Variety that the move was the legally necessary first step before the actor could eventually be terminated. Production on the political drama’s sixth and final season was stopped earlier this week following the allegations of sexual assault against Spacey. It’s been less than a week since Anthony Rapp accused the actor of sexually assaulting him when he was 14-years-old. Spacey was 26 years old at the time. The actor told Buzzfeed that Spacey allegedly lay down on top of him in a New York apartment in 1986. He said:

"He 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. "As I opened the door to leave, he was leaning on the front door [frame]. “And he was like, ‘Are you sure you wanna go?’ I said, ‘Yes, good night,’ and then I did leave."