Is Kevin Spacey-starrer House of Cards getting nixed over molestation charges a good thing?
Amid allegations of sexual harassment and assault against Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey, Netflix, it seems is trying to do the honourable thing by ending House of Cards, its Emmy-nominated political drama. The Guardian reported that the show will end at the conclusion of its upcoming sixth season, and that the final episodes of the TV series, starring Spacey and Robin Wright will be aired in 2018.
On October 30, Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp told Buzzfeed News that in 1986, when he was a 14-year-old, Spacey (26 at that time) invited him over to his apartment for a party and made a sexual advance.
While Spacey did respond to the accusation, many felt that his apology was not just insincere but also problematic, seeing that he chose that same statement to annouce that he is gay, a move that many see as a distraction from the child sexual abuse allegation he is facing.
Both Netflix and Media Rights Capital, the show’s producer, released a joint statement on October 30 stating:
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.
House of Cards creator and show-runner for its first four seasons, Beau Willimon, also released a statement on the same day on Twitter that said: “Anthony Rapp’s story is deeply troubling. During the time I worked with Kevin on House of Cards, I neither witnessed nor was aware of any inappropriate behaviour on set or off. That said, I take reports of such behaviour seriously, and this is no exception.”
While it may seem that the decision to end House of Cards was triggered by the allegations of child sexual abuse, the show’s creators, as per multiple reports, have been leaning towards ending the show for some time now. In fact, a Netflix spokesperson confirmed to Guardian Australia that the decision to end the show was made months earlier, and not in response to the child sex abuse allegation that Spacey is facing.
Despite Netflix’s decision, many on the social media have expressed their desire to see the show being carried on, sans Frank Underwood (Spacey’s character). A prominent argument being made by the viewers is that they would love to see the show’s other protagonist Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) taking the story forward.
An editorial on news and pop culture website The Ladies Finger argues that while Netflix may have had plans to cancel House of Cards, their announcement today is merely an opportunity for them to cash-in on the controversy surrounding the show. Netflix signals some virtue and ends up looking like the good guy. And that is problematic. The decision to cancel, if indeed was somewhat triggered by Spacey’s misconduct, it is wrong to punish the whole cast and crew of the show, many of them having won awards for, on the lead actor's account.
Thankfully, Netflix’s problematic decision is not the only repercussion of this controversy.
The academy in charge of hosting the annual International Emmy Awards Show has revoked Spacey’s honour after the allegations surfaced. "The International Academy has announced that in light of recent events it will not honour Kevin Spacey with the 2017 International Emmy Founders Award," it announced on Twitter.
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