Kevin Spacey’s woes have continued with the news that he has been ordered to pay a massive $31 million to the producer of House of Cards.
The actor was fired from the hit Netflix show before its sixth and final season after several employees accused him of sexual misconduct. His termination led to a loss in revenue, which is why the show’s producer, MRC, is trying to recoup their losses from Spacey.
As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, an arbitrator has ruled against Spacey, concluding that he breached contractual obligations to provide services “in a profession manner” and “consistent with (MRC’s) reasonable directions, practices and policies.” It brings to an end a two-year legal battle which raged behind closed doors.
For his part, Spacey claimed to still be entitled to income under his “pay or play” deal. His argument was that it was the decision by MRC and Netflix to prematurely end his contract that caused the loss of revenue, not his misconduct.
MCR really struggled with the final season of House of Cards after Spacey’s removal. The episode total was cut down to eight from 13 and numerous rewrites were required to cover for his absence.
It’s not clear how the amount of $31 million was reached, but it doesn’t sound like a lot. It’s also not clear if Spacey even has such money to repay MCR. He recently reached a financial settlement with the family of one of his accusers, and is facing another lawsuit from actor Anthony Rapp, which could also prove costly.
It would help him if he could secure any acting roles but those have been hard to come by for Spacey since the allegations first surfaced. He was given a minor role in the upcoming Italian film L’uomo Che Disegno Dio, but that’s about it.
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Check out the trailer for the final season of House of Cards:
