LOS ANGELES , Kevin Spacey and his production firms must pay more than $30M to the studio behind “House of Cards” because of losses he suffered from his firing for sexual misconduct. This is according to an arbitration decision that was made on Monday.
Los Angeles Superior Court filed a request for a judge to approve the ruling. It states that Spacey had violated his contract by engaging in “certain conduct” with crew members during each of five seasons of House of Cards.
The studio behind “House of Cards”, MRC, had to fire Spacey and halt production of the sixth season. They also had to rewrite the script to remove Spacey as the central character and reduce it from 13 to 8 episodes in order to meet deadlines. This resulted in tens of million in losses.
Monday’s statement by MRC stated that safety is paramount to MRC.
Spacey’s representative did not respond immediately to an email asking for comment. His lawyers argued that Spacey’s actions weren’t a significant factor in the show’s losses.
After a lengthy legal battle lasting more than three decades and an eight-day evidentiary process that was kept secret from the general public, the court ruled.
Spacey appealed to the panel of three additional private arbitrators who found in favor of the plaintiffs. The decision was made final and public on Monday.
Michael Kump, plaintiff’s attorney, stated in a statement that “MRC stood firm, pursued the case relentlessly, and achieved the right result in end.”
Late in 2017, the #MeToo movement accelerated and brought an abrupt end to Oscar winner, 62.
Anthony Rapp, an actor who appeared in “Rent,” on Broadway and in film, as well as “Star Trek: Discovery” television series, claimed that Spacey made a sexual advances on him at 14 years old during a party in 1980s.
Spacey apologized and issued a statement at the time stating that he didn’t recall the encounter.
There were many other accusers. Some, and Rapp have brought lawsuits.
Independent investigations revealed widespread sexual harassment against those who worked for him.
Spacey was either fired or expelled from many projects, including “House of Cards,” a Netflix political thriller in which he played Frank Underwood, a power-hungry congressman who is elected president.
Indecent assault and battery charges against him stemming out of the alleged groping by an 18-year old man at a Nantucket Resort, were dismissed in 2019 by Massachusetts prosecutors
