After a two-year closed-door legal battle, an arbitrator has ruled that Kevin Spacey must pay House of Cards producer MRC nearly $31 million for sexual misconduct behind the scenes on the political series. The Oscar-winning actor allegedly violated the guidelines of his contract with the production company.
Huge fine to be paid by Kevin Spacey
Spacey, who played Frank Underwood in House of Cards, was forced out of the influential Netflix series after explosive allegations of sexual harassment against young men came to light. The allegations, which included groping a production assistant, prompted MRC to conduct an investigation. Eventually, the producers terminated the Hollywood actor's acting and production contracts. The dispute then went to court, where both sides asserted claims against each other. According to the most recent filing, the arbitrator concluded in an Oct. 19 decision that Spacey repeatedly violated contractual obligations to provide services in a professional manner. Kevin Spacey claimed he was still entitled to money as part of his contract. He argued that it was MRC and Netflix's decision to terminate him. So it wasn't his behavior in the early seasons outside the statute of limitations that caused financial loss. However, these claims were not favored by the court.
The Oscar winner's career was in free fall because of multiple sexual assaults. He unsuccessfully tried to appeal the court's decision to a panel of three other judges and is continuing the filing. According to the production company, the safety of employees on the film set and the working environment is of utmost importance. This was the main reason for pushing for accountability, MRC said in a statement after the filing. Accordingly, the company stood its ground, doggedly pursued this case and ultimately achieved the right result, according to one of the representatives. Kevin Spacey was also among the first major Hollywood actors to be charged in the Harvey Weinstein scandal in October 2017.
