Kevin Spacey (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
NEW YORK – Eight current and former “House of Cards” workers claimed that Kevin Spacey made the production a “toxic” workplace and one ex-employee even alleged that the actor sexually assaulted him, the CNN reported.
This was the latest on the series of sexual scandals hounding Hollywood, which seemed to have taken a cue from the sexual allegations lodged by hundreds of women against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
Identities of the employees of the hit series were withheld from Thursday’s report because they fear professional fallout, the cable news channel said.
Among the House of Cards personnel is a former production assistant who alleged that Spacey assaulted him during one of the Netflix show’s early seasons, and CNN reported that all of the people described Spacey’s behavior as predatory.
The report said that Spacey allegedly targeted workers who were typically young and male with nonconsensual touching and crude comments.
Netflix and Spacey’s publicist did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Production of House of Cards was previously suspended.
The fallout stems from last weekend’s BuzzFeed News report in which actor Anthony Rapp said that Spacey attempted to seduce him in 1986, when Rapp was 14 years old.
Spacey apologized earlier this week for the incident but said he did not recall what might have been a “drunken behavior.”
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Spacey’s publicist said the actor is seeking unspecified treatment. /kga