Kevin Spacey Ordered To Pay $31 Million In House Of Cards Lawsuit
Disgraced actor Kevin Spacey, whose career imploded after sexual harassment scandals, will finally be forced to pay the piper. In November 2021, Spacey was ordered to pay $31 million to Media Rights Capital (MRC), the production company behind his hit series "House of Cards," due to claims of Spacey violating the sexual harassment portion of his contract. Spacey vehemently denies the allegations against him, despite the fact that they were clearly serious enough for Netflix to fire him and kill off the main character on one of their most popular shows.
Spacey tried to appeal the court's decision for him to pay MRC, and thankfully, Spacey got to hear his least favorite thing in the world: the word "no." According to Entertainment Weekly, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mel Red Recana ruled against his attempts to have the arbitration award thrown out, meaning that Spacey still has to pay $30.9 million to MRC. The fine doesn't undo any of the damage he's done, but at least it's a step towards holding him accountable.
Pay up, buttercup
"House of Cards" was no small thing for Netflix, and for them to pull the plug on Spacey with only one season to go means there had to be some pretty compelling evidence to his misdoings. His behavior has been an open Hollywood secret for far too long, and this firing and lawsuit felt like (hopefully) only the first of many repercussions for the performer. Ridley Scott even replaced him in "All the Money in the World," having Christopher Plummer re-shoot his parts. (Can we get someone on this retroactively for other good movies sullied by Spacey? A new voice-over for Duncan Jones' "Moon" would be a godsend.)
Somehow, Spacey still thinks people will magically forgive him or forget what's happening, even as he's being charged with several cases of sexual assault in the United Kingdom. No number of weird Christmas YouTube videos is going to save you now, Spacey.
Powerful rich white guys like Spacey are so rarely held accountable that his simply being forced to pay the fine feels like a win. Paying $31 million to a production company isn't exactly going to repair any damage, and "House of Cards" actually vastly improved after Spacey got the boot, but we'll take what we can get. It's not all that often that rich, powerful people actually face a comeuppance, and it's a refreshing change of pace.