A house of cards is a 17th century expression that refers to a structure or argument built on a shaky foundation or one that will collapse if a necessary (but possibly overlooked or unappreciated) element is removed. (Source, Wikipedia, 2022). As any fan of politics or TV drama knows, a house of cards may hold up in the short term, but eventually it will give way to scrutiny. It would appear the house of cards erected by Academy Award winning-actor Kevin Spacey has crumbled.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mel Red Recana has ordered Spacey to pay the producers of House of Cards nearly $31 million in damages stemming from his removal from the series amid serious sexual misconduct allegations. The case is captioned MRC II Distribution v. Spacey, Case No. 21STCP03831 (Ca. Super. Ct., Los Angeles) (Aug. 4, 2022). The producers of the hit show on Netflix, MRC II Distribution Company, L.P. (MRC), sued Spacey in arbitration contending that Spacey owed them millions in lost profits because his removal, prompted by the sexual misconduct allegations, forced the network to rewrite the entirety of season six and truncating it from 13 episodes to just eight. Spacey’s lawyers tried to throw out the award, saying his behavior amounted to nothing more than “sexual innuendos” and “innocent horseplay” and did not violate MRC’s anti-harassment policy.

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