Kevin Spacey Suspended From House Of Cards: Production Company

Kevin Spacey has been suspended from the political drama House of Cards effective immediately, Media Rights Capital, the production company for the show, said in a statement late Friday. Netflix will continue to work with Media Rights Capital to evaluate a "path forward" as it relates to the show and a Netflix spokesperson said the streaming giant will not be involved in any further production that includes Spacey. The upcoming season of House of Cards will be the last in the series.

The Netflix spokesperson said the company will also not be moving forward with the movie Gore, which would star Spacey in the role of the writer Gore Vidal. The movie was in post-production and was also being produced by Spacey.

Spacey's suspension comes less than a week after actor Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of making a sexual advance on him when he was a minor. In a statement, Spacey said he did not remember the encounter but if he did behave as Rapp alleged he owed him the sincerest apology.

Since the allegation made by Rapp was revealed by Buzzfeed News, more men have come forward to accuse Spacey of sexual misconduct. Several accusations stem from Spacey's alleged behavior during his stint as the artistic director of London's Old Vic theater from 2004 to 2015. According to reports from London, theater staff turned a blind eye to Spacey's alleged sexual misconduct.

The Old Vic issued a statement saying that it was "deeply dismayed" by the allegations of sexual improprieties, adding that it had set up an email address for anyone who has worked there to make a confidential complaint about inappropriate behavior by Spacey, or anyone else. In response to the allegations, Spacey's publicist told the New York Times, the actor "is taking the time necessary to seek evaluation and treatment. No other information is available at this time."

On Thursday, CNN reported that Spacey allegedly created a toxic work environment on the set of House of Cards through a pattern of sexual harassment. In the report, CNN spoke to eight people who accused Spacey of sexual misconduct and one production assistant accused Spacey of sexually assaulting him. Spacey did not respond to CNN's request for statement regarding the allegations highlighted in the report.

In its statement, MRC said it will continue to investigate the serious allegations concerning Spacey’s behavior on the set of House of Cards.

When the first allegation against Spacey came to light, Netflix announced that season six would be the last but said that decision was made independent of and before the accusation by Rapp. The company later announced that it had suspended production on the show.

Netflix's decision to not be involved in further production with Spacey is significant as the actor played the lead role of the ambitious and corrupt politician Frank Underwood, who along with his wife Claire Underwood, played by Robin Wright, bullied his way to the presidency. Claire Underwood, who has political ambition that is equivalent to her husband's, is also a star on the show in her own right.

Paige Austin contributed to this report.

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