Kevin Spacey ordered to pay $43m to House of Cards producers

Kevin Spacey and his companies to pay nearly $AU43m to MRC, the production company behind House of Cards, for breaching his contract by transgressing the company’s sexual harassment policy.

MRC severed its relationship with Spacey and scrapped a season of the show in 2017, after multiple people came forward with allegations.

Variety reports on Monday the Los Angeles Superior Court ordered Spacey and his companies, M. Profitt Productions and Trigger Street Productions, to pay damages, attorneys’ fees and costs amounting to $AU42.87m

MRC sought to recover from Spacey the costs of scrapping an entire season and starting over after allegations surfaced. Spacey filed a counterclaim, accusing them of wrongfully terminating his contract and breaching its obligations to “pay or play.”

After an eight-day confidential arbitration hearing in February 2020 the Arbitrator found “Spacey’s egregious breaches of contract” made he and his companies liable for MRC’s millions of extra costs.

“The safety of our employees, sets and work environments is of paramount importance to MRC and why we set out to push for accountability,” MRC said in a statement.

Spacey’s attorney did not comment.