The production of the final season of one of the most popular shows on Netflix, House of Cards has been stalled by until further notice. This news comes in after allegation of sexual assault against Kevin Spacey by actor Anthony Rapp surfaced.
“MRC and Netflix 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,” the two companies said in a joint statement to Deadline.
According to a report in Bloomberg, the team of House of Cards is currently shooting in Baltimore. Netflix and production company Media Rights Capital stated that they were “deeply troubled” by the allegation against Spacey.
“Media Rights Capital and Netflix are deeply troubled by last night’s news concerning Kevin Spacey. In response to last night’s revelations, executives from both of our companies arrived in Baltimore this afternoon to meet with our cast and crew to ensure that they continue to feel safe and supported. As previously scheduled, Kevin Spacey is not working on set at this time.”Statement by Netflix and Media Rights Capital
However, it seems Netflix is denying that its decision to end House of Cards is because of the allegations of sexual assault against Kevin Spacey. But, according to Deadline.com Netflix’s Spacey-starring film Gore about author Gore Vidal may be on the “chopping block” too.
What’s more, the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences withdrew an honour scheduled to be conferred on him.
"The International Academy has announced that in light of recent events it will not honour Kevin Spacey with the 2017 International Emmy Founders Award," the Academy announced on Twitter.
It was announced in June that Spacey would be recognized as "one of the great multi-dimensional talents" who "crosses cultural boundaries to touch humanity" at the 45th International Emmy Awards Gala on November 20 in New York City.
Anthony Rapp, who is a star from the CBS online series Star Trek: Discovery spoke about being accosted by Spacey at the age of 14 at a party in 1986. He also said that he has chosen to speak out now after gathering courage from the women who were coming forward to report sexual harassment and rape at the hands of Harvey Weinstein.
The 13-episode Season 6 of House of Cards is expected to debut in mid-2018 on Netflix.
(Source: Bloomberg, IANS)
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