Netflix Cancel House Of Cards Following Kevin Spacey Child Abuse Scandal

PA

After allegations of unwanted sexual advances by Kevin Spacey against a young teen actor, Netflix has pulled the plug on House of Cards.

It has been less than 12 hours since actor Anthony Rapp alleged Spacey approached him during a party in the mid-1980s.

There are also rumours that other Netflix-Spacey projects are on the cards to be dropped also, though that is not confirmed, according to Deadline.

Netflix

It is also unclear whether formal legal proceedings are being brought against Kevin Spacey for these allegations.

House of Cards, however, is set to be cancelled after the next season, which is set to hit the streaming service in mid-2018.

Speaking to Buzzfeed, Anthony Rapp recalled how the House of Cards actor, invited a then 14-year-old Rapp to his Manhattan apartment for a party in 1986 and found him alone, watching TV in a bedroom, before proceeding to lay him on the bed and lie on top of the young boy.

Netflix

The actor has subsequently apologised in a statement, in which he also came out:

Rapp was a cast member alongside Spacey in a Broadway production at the time.

The Star Trek: Discovery star told Buzzfeed he ‘still to this day can’t wrap my head around so many aspects of it’, adding: ‘It’s just deeply confusing to me.’

Spacey’s statement reads:

I have a lot of respect and admiration for Anthony Rapp as an actor. I’m beyond horrified to hear his story.

I honestly do not remember the encounter, it would have been over 30 years ago.

But if I did behave then as he describes, I own him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate, drunken behavior, and I am sorry for the feelings he describes having carried with him all these years.

PA

On a personal note, Spacey continued:

This story has encouraged me to address other things about my life. I know that there are stories out there about me and that some have been fueled by the fact that I have been protective of my privacy.

As those closest to me know, in my life I have had relationships with both men and women. I have loved and had romantic encounters with men throughout my life and I choose now to live as a gay man.

I want to deal with this honestly and openly and that starts with examining my own behavior.

PA

However, Spacey’s choice to use these allegations as a platform to come out has not gone down well with some observers, who’ve also criticised the actor for suggesting drunkenness mitigates the alleged sexual abuse of a minor.

Rapp, now 46, told Buzzfeed he decided to speak publicly about the abuse he experienced in the aftermath of allegations regarding film mogul Harvey Weinstein and his systematic abuse of female actors in Hollywood for decades.

Harvey Weinstein has been accused of many incidents of gross sexual misconduct – including harassment, sexual assault and rape – by over 80 women.

Many of these individuals are powerful women in the public eye, like Cara Delevingne, Rose McGowan, Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Blake Lively and Reese Witherspoon.

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