Actor Kevin Spacey is confronting a growing dogpile of sexual assault and harassment allegations, with some of the newest ones coming from the Maryland-based set of the show that recently catapulted Spacey back into stardom.
Eight current and former employees of “House of Cards,” filmed in Baltimore and Joppa, told CNN in a report that ran Thursday that Spacey created a “toxic” work environment through a pattern of alleged sexual advances and harassment.
One former production assistant said Spacey sexually assaulted him during one of the early seasons while he was driving the actor to an off-site location. By his account, Spacey stuck his hands down the man’s pants without his consent while he was driving. Something else happened in the car, but the man asked that it not be described, for fear that he’d be identifiable.
After they got to the trailer off-site, Spacey then allegedly cornered the man in a trailer while he was helping the actor move some of his belongings.
“I told him, ‘I don’t think I’m ok with this, I don’t think I’m comfortable with this,’” the production assistant told CNN. He said Spacey then became “visibly flustered” in response and left for the rest of the day.
Others shared stories: A male crew member who’s worked for “House of Cards” since season one said Spacey “put his hands on me in weird ways”; a female former production assistant said she saw him grope male crew members by the crotch, and heard he’d reached up some people’s shorts.
The reports from Joppa follow actor Anthony Rapp’s big reveal last Sunday, via BuzzFeed, that Spacey, then 26, made an aggressive sexual pass at him in New York when he was 14 years old.
Spacey apologized for the incident involving Rapp earlier this week, though he said he didn’t remember it happening, and also used the moment as an opportunity to come out as gay.
In another new report from Vulture, a man said he had a relationship with Spacey, 24 at the time, when he was a 14-year-old theater student in New York. It ended in Spacey allegedly attempting to rape him.
Spacey’s publicist and talent agency have reportedly dropped him, and Netflix and Media Rights Capital, the companies behind “House of Cards,” announced earlier this week that filming for the show’s sixth and final season has been indefinitely suspended.
Netflix released a statement to CNN yesterday responding to the new allegations from the Maryland set, saying it “was just made aware of one incident, five years ago, that we were informed was resolved swiftly.”
“Netflix is not aware of any other incidents involving Kevin Spacey on-set,” the company said. “We continue to collaborate with MRC and other production partners to maintain a safe and respectful working environment. We will continue to work with MRC during this hiatus time to evaluate our path forward as it relates to the production, and have nothing further to share at this time.”
MRC told CNN in a separate statement it has implemented an “anonymous complaint line, crisis counselors, and sexual harassment legal advisers for the crew.”
“We are deeply troubled to learn about these new allegations that are being made to the press concerning Kevin Spacey’s interaction with members of the crew of House of Cards,” the company said. “As the producer of the show, creating and maintaining a safe working environment for our cast and crew has always been our top priority.”
MRC said it knew of one incident from 2012 — likely the same one that Netflix mentioned — but it was resolved, and that Spacey then completed a “training process.”
