Spacey faces backlash after sexual misconduct allegations
The next season of Netflix's award-winning House of Cards will be the last, a spokesman said on Monday, as the series reeled over sexual misconduct allegations against its star Kevin Spacey.
The 58-year-old double Oscar winner, who plays ruthless President Francis Underwood in the hit show, is facing claims from actor Anthony Rapp that he "made a sexual advance" at a party 31 years ago while Rapp was underage.
"Season six is our last season," a spokeswoman told AFP.
A source with knowledge of the issue told AFP however that the decision to end the series was unrelated to the allegations, having been made before they came to light.
Starring alongside Robin Wright, Spacey is also executive producer of the platform's flagship series, which is adapted from a BBC drama of the same name and has earned 46 Emmy nominations and Golden Globes for its lead couple.
Netflix doesn't release viewing figures. But the show has marked out its place in television history as the company's debut in original programming, which has grown to include other highly regarded shows such as Stranger Things and Orange is the New Black.
Filming for season six is under way in Maryland, with season six expected to drop next year. No premiere date has yet been set but House of Cards has never debuted later than May.
Rapp, 46, told Buzzfeed that in 1986, while both he and Spacey were performing on Broadway, Spacey invited the then 14-year-old to a party at his New York home. Spacey would have been 26 at the time.
Rapp said he was in Spacey's bedroom watching TV when Spacey, apparently drunk, came in after all the other guests had left, and lay on top of him.
"He was trying to seduce me," Rapp told Buzzfeed. "I don't know if I would have used that language. But I was aware that he was trying to get with me sexually."
Rapp said he squirmed free after a brief period of time and went into the bathroom, before leaving Spacey's apartment and going home.
Out of the closet
Spacey posted on his Twitter account that he was "beyond horrified" by Rapp's revelation, which he claimed not to remember.
"I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior," Spacey wrote.
Spacey went on to say that Rapp's accusation "encouraged me to address other things about my life" before confirming that he was gay.
"I have loved and had romantic encounters with men throughout my life, and I choose now to live as a gay man. I want to deal with this honestly and openly and that starts with examining my own behavior," Spacey wrote.
His comments prompted a backlash from critics who accused him of deflecting from his misdeed by finally coming out, while reports suggested that he may face other accusers.
Critics denounced the A-lister for appearing to conflate homosexuality with preying on a child, stereotypes that gay activists have fought for generations.
"Bye bye, Spacey goodbye, it's your turn to cry, that's why we've gotta say goodbye," tweeted Rose McGowan, one of the first actresses to accuse disgraced Hollywood producer Weinstein of rape.
Sarah Kate Ellis, president of LGBTQ acceptance advocacy group GLAAD, added, "Coming out stories should not be used to deflect from allegations of sexual assault."
'Many stories'
"This exposes the gay community to a million tired old criticisms and conspiracies," tweeted Richard Lawson, film critic for Vanity Fair magazine.
"The distance we've had to walk to get away from the notion that we're all pedophiles is significant."
Comedian Rosie O'Donnell likened Spacey to Weinstein. "We all knew about u - I hope more men come forward," she tweeted.
Victoria Featherstone, artistic director of London's Royal Court Theatre, told the BBC that she was aware of stories about Spacey, during his decade-long stint as artistic director of the Old Vic theater in London.
"I think that many people in the theater and in the creative industries have been aware of many stories of many people over a lot of years, and Kevin Spacey would be one of the people that people have had concerns about, yes," she told Radio 4.
Former Boston television news anchor Heather Unruh wrote on October 13 that she was a Spacey fan "until he assaulted a loved one," whom she did not name.
Reactions from China
Due to the popularity of House of Cards in China, Spacey also has quite a large number of followers in the country.
His official account on Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo also released the Twitter statement confirming that he was gay. Many of his fans supported his decision, commenting that it was "a brave action."
Netizen Soundantonio said that "I will not be against you just because you are gay. I will love your movies forever."
Sina Weibo user L1nwizard posted, "His private life has been well protected, which ensured that people love him for his movies. I love him for being a good actor, his attitude toward acting, as well as his respect for art, which is to me much more important than his private life."
Some, however, also questioned his motivations for coming out of the closet at this time. On Zihu, China's answer to Q&A site Quora, user Renqi said, "I will be unhappy if Spacey's coming out ends up covering up allegations of sexual harassment toward a 14-year-old boy."
