Kevin Spacey to pay compensation to ‘House of Cards’ producer, judge decides

AFP

American actor Kevin Spacey is expected to pay nearly $31 million to the producer of the series “House of Cards”, from which he was fired amid a whirlwind of harassment allegations, according to a judge’s ruling. of Los Angeles, this Thursday (4).

It is the latest legal defeat for the disgraced Hollywood star in his long legal battle with the production company MRC, responsible for the success of the streaming.

Spacey, winner of two Oscars, starred in five seasons of the series, until several allegations appeared in the press against him of sexual harassment against co-workers.

“MRC was not aware of this type of conduct by Spacey with members of the show’s cast or crew,” the company said in a court filing.

The production company alleges that, following allegations of sexual harassment and assault in 2017, it suspended the actor and ordered an investigation, which determined that “Spacey breached provisions in acting and executive producing agreements that set standards of conduct in the workplace, including violating the harassment policy.”

An arbitration judge ruled in October 2020 that Spacey should pay $29.5 million, in addition to representation costs, to the production company, which had to rethink “House of Cards” due to the departure of protagonist Frank Underwood. The series of political intrigues ended shortly afterwards.

The actor had asked the court to annul the multimillion-dollar compensation, on the grounds that the arbitration judge committed procedural errors in assessing the damages.

However, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mel Red Recana ratified the decision, ordering the actor to pay damages.

Spacey denies all allegations, which ended his award-winning career and which emerged amid the #MeToo movement, born from the harassment case of powerful producer Harvey Weinstein.

In another lawsuit last month, the 63-year-old artist pleaded guilty before a London court to sexual harassment charges brought by three men, which date back more than 10 years.