Netflix late on Friday dropped Kevin Spacey, whose career is in free fall over spiraling sexual assault accusations, as police gather evidence for a possible arrest warrant against Harvey Weinstein for alleged rape.
Two-time Oscar winner Spacey, for years considered one of the most gifted actors of his generation and whose collaboration with Netflix put the streaming giant on the map, has in just days gone from esteemed actor to entertainment pariah.
Reportedly being investigated by British police for assaulting a man in London in 2008, he has been publicly accused of attempting to rape a 15-year-old boy in New York and of making advances on a 14-year-old.
Already dropped by his publicist and agent, Netflix became the latest entity to cut ties with Spacey, saying it would be involved in no further production of its hit series House of Cards that includes the 58-year-old.
Production of the show’s final season, which had been scheduled to air next year, has already been suspended.
The streaming service also said it was abandoning the release of an upcoming film, Gore, that also starred the actor, whose glittering career is now collapsing around him.
“Netflix will not be involved with any further production of House of Cards that includes Kevin Spacey,” a spokesperson said.
The streaming giant said it would work with the show’s production company, Media Rights Capital, “to evaluate our path forward as it relates to the show.”
In London, police said that they had opened an investigation into an allegation of sexual assault.
Officers do not publicly identify the subject of an inquiry unless they are charged, but British media said it was Spacey.
Since the allegations first surfaced on Sunday last week, Spacey has made no comment other than declaring he was “beyond horrified” by the first allegation dating back 31 years, which he claimed not to remember.
Actor Anthony Rapp opened the floodgates by saying the actor tried to “seduce” him and lay on top of him when he was 14 years old at Spacey’s New York apartment 31 years ago.
Weinstein, once one of the most powerful men in Hollywood, and Spacey are the most high-profile scalps in a month-long torrent of allegations bringing down like dominoes male power players from the worlds of politics, finance, entertainment and journalism.
About 100 women have since early last month accused Weinstein, a father of five, of sexual misconduct ranging from harassment to rape, sparking police investigations in London, Los Angeles and New York.
On Friday, New York police confirmed that officers were gathering evidence for a possible arrest warrant in connection with Weinstein’s alleged double rape of Boardwalk Empire actress Paz de la Huerta at her New York apartment in late 2010.
“She put forth a credible and detailed narrative to us,” New York Police Department Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce told reporters.
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