Netflix has pulled its hit show "House of Cards" after Kevin Spacey was accused of making sexual advances on a teenage boy. Filming of the sixth season has been suspended.
Netflix and House of Cards production company Media Rights Capital issued a joint statement on Tuesday saying they "have decided to suspend production on House of Cards season six, until further notice, to give us time to review the current situation and to address any concerns of our cast and crew."
Both companies had said on Monday they were "deeply troubled" by the allegations against Spacey.
The decision to end the series as a whole was made several months ago, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the end of the series had been in the works during the summer. Deadline also reported that Netflix and production company Media Rights Capital had been leaning toward ending the show.
'House of Cards' a gamechanger
The 58-year-old double Oscar winner is also an executive producer on the show, which is adapted from a BBC drama of the same name and which has earned 46 Emmy nominations and Golden Globes for its lead couple.
"House of Cards was a game-changer for Netflix, widely considered the first streaming show to take the fight up to Hollywood," David Knox, editor of the website TV Tonight, said.
"Searingly written and performed, with all episodes dropped on day of launch, it's the show that has spearheaded Netflix and for most consumers, the first of their titles they ever watched."
Netflix doesn't release its viewing figures.
@dwnews - Kevin Spacey apologizes for sexually harassing actor, comes out as gay on social media
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The allegations
In an interview published by BuzzFeed News on Sunday, actor Anthony Rapp alleged that he was attending a party at Spacey's apartment in 1986 when an inebriated 26-year-old Spacey picked him up, placed him on his bed, and climbed on top of him. Rapp, then 14, was able to get away without any physical harm.
Rapp said he had been encouraged to make the accusations after dozens of women came out with allegations of sexual abuse by the film producer Harvey Weinstein after the New York Times published a story earlier in October alleging that Weinstein had sexually harassed several women.
"I came forward with my story, standing on the shoulders of the many courageous women and men who have been speaking out to shine a light and hopefully make a difference, as they have done for me," he wrote on Twitter. Rapp, who starred on Broadway in "Rent," currently stars in "Star Trek: Discovery."
Rapp says he was as a party at Spacey's flat in 1986 when the actor picked him up, put him on his bed and climbed on top of himImage: Getty Images/D.M. Benett
So sorry!
Spacey responded on Twitter by saying he doesn't remember the alleged encounter but that, if he had acted in the way Rapp alleged, "I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior."
Spacey then said Rapp's story had encouraged him to address long-standing rumors about his sexuality. He wrote he had had romantic relationships with both men and women but was now living "as a gay man" and wanted to be honest so he could examine his own behavior.
Anger among LGBT
Spacey has been accused by some in the LGBT community as seeming to make a connection between being gay and sexual abuse of minors.
Civil rights activists and others suggested that Spacey had betrayed the LGBT community to detract from "personal failings."
For example, DeRay Mckesson:
While, musician Lance Bass wrote on Twitter:
Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of the gay rights group GLAAD said in a statement that the story was really about unwanted sexual advances on Rapp and not Spacey's sexuality. "Coming out stories should not be used to deflect from allegations of sexual assault," she said.
10 memorable on-screen portrayals of US politics
Cinema and TV have always accompanied US politics. While James Stewart and Henry Fonda once graced the screen as US politicians, today it's Kevin Spacey in "House of Cards."
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Fiction and reality: House of Cards
When the blockbuster US series "House of Cards" premiered in 2013, many still believed that reality could not get this bad. But the election of Donald Trump has changed that way of thinking. As "House of Cards" has relentlessly focused on the machinations of campaign politics, today the series appears to many observers to be too realistic.
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Political idealism I: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Almost 80 years ago, politics were perceived differently in Hollywood. At the time, directors and producers portrayed politicians that were still marked by heroism and idealism. A classic example of such "hopeful" political films of the time was "Mr. Smith goes to Washington" (1939), starring James Stewart.
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Political idealism II: Young Mr. Lincoln
In addition to James Stewart, Henry Fonda in particular ensured that cinema-goers were given a rather positive picture of their politicians in the cinema. Playing the lead role in the film "Young Mr. Lincoln," also released in 1939, Fonda portrayed a future president full of kindness and humanity.
In the 1972 film "The Candidate," idealism was balanced with pessimism about the political process. Robert Redford played the role of the sympathetic Democratic Party candidate who wins in the end, but along the way reveals much about the depravity of politics.
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The harsh reality: Primary Colors
The 1998 film "Primary Colors" provided some of most realistic insights into political electioneering on the big screen. Based on an autobiographical novel by political journalist Joe Klein, who followed Bill Clinton's run for the White House, the film dealt candidly with a cynical election campaign and gave Hollywood food for political thought.
Image: picture-alliance / Mary Evans Picture Library
Campaign satire: "Wag the Dog"
In 1997, director Barry Levinson sparked a fireworks at political gags and satirical side notes in "Wag the Dog." A filmmaker (Dustin Hoffman) and a campaign manager (played by Robert de Niro) have all the means to keep the US president in office in a film that blatantly exposes the corrupt underside of American politics.
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Small screen politics: Commander in Chief
America's television producers and series writers have also discovered politics in recent years. Before "House of Cards" became a much-celebrated TV series, cable network ABC presented a sensational political scenario in "Commander in Chief," a show in which Geena Davis portrayed the first female US president.
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Before House of Cards: The West Wing
The series "The West Wing," about the everyday intrigues of a US president, was a great success in the years 1999 to 2006, collecting numerous awards (including four Emmys for best drama series) and drawing in millions of viewers. Running for seven seasons, the series also received critical kudos for its realistic portrayal of backroom machinations in the Oval Office.
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Electorial intrigue: The Ides of March
In the tradition of the engaged political films of the 1970s came George Clooney's 2011 film, "The Ides of March." Clooney, who plays a Democratic presidential candidate, is assisted by the young election campaigner Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling). "The Ides of March" presented an intelligent and complex picture of the inside workings of American election campaigns.
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The political documentary: Michael Moore in Trumpland
Just a few weeks before Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States, Michael Moore released his prescient documentary film, "Michael Moore in Trumpland." The popular and often contentious director gets to the heart of Trump and his election campaign in a documentary that lets the images and voices speak for themselves.
