Days after Netflix halted production on House of Cards in the wake of sexual harassment allegations against its star, eight people who work on the show have come forward to accuse Kevin Spacey of sexual harassment, and in one case, assault, CNN reports.
The accusers allege that Spacey sexually harassed crew members routinely over the course of the show's six seasons. They claim Spacey's "predatory" behavior turned the set of House of Cards into a "toxic" environment, where young male staffers were frequently subjected to crude comments and touched inappropriately.
One production assistant said Spacey sexually assaulted him during a car ride to the show's set outside Baltimore. Spacey, who was driving, allegedly put his hands down the PA's pants, an advance he described as nonconsensual.
"I was in a state of shock," the PA told CNN. "He was a man in a very powerful position on the show and I was someone very low on the totem pole and on the food chain there."
Minutes later, after the two brought Spacey's stuff into the star's trailer, the actor allegedly cornered the PA and touched him inappropriately. The PA said he told Spacey he was uncomfortable and the actor reportedly left the set for the rest of the day.
Another crew member told CNN he was regularly subjected to Spacey's advances and crude comments.
"He would put his hands on me in weird ways," the crew member told CNN. "He would come in and massage my shoulders from behind or put his hands around me or touch my stomach sometimes in weird ways that in normal everyday conversation would not be appropriate."
The growing number of troubling allegations follow an account from actor Anthony Rapp who publicly accused Spacey on Sunday of lying on top of him and "trying to seduce" him when he was 14. On Tuesday, Netflix decided to halt production on the final season of House of Cards to "to address any concerns of our cast and crew." By Thursday Spacey had been dropped by his talent agency and publicist.
In response to the initial claim, Spacey responded by apologizing to Rapp about the alleged encounter, which he said he doesn't remember. He also decided to come out, a move that's been criticized widely by the LGBTQ community. On Wednesday, Spacey announced that he would "seek evaluation and treatment," Deadline reports. According to the Guardian, British police are now investigating a sexual assault claim against him in London.
Spacey is just one of several Hollywood scions—including Dustin Hoffman, Brett Ratner, and James Toback—facing sexual harassment and assault accusations amid the Harvey Weinstein scandal, which escalated Thursday with a new allegation of rape.
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