Kevin Spacey ordered to pay ‘House of Cards’ makers $30M

Kevin Spacey and his production companies owe the makers of “House of Cards” more than $30 million because of losses brought on by his 2017 firing for alleged sexual harassment of young crew members. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mel Red Recana ruled in favor of MRC and other companies that produced the popular Netflix series Thursday.

Following Spacey’s removal, the production of “House of Cards” stopped. Producers had to rewrite the show to remove Spacey’s role. He was the lead character. The season also had to be cut from 13 episodes to eight. These factors resulted in tens of millions of dollars in losses, according to court documents.

The 63-year-old Oscar winner’s career came to an abrupt halt late in 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained momentum and allegations against him emerged from several places. “House of Cards” was one of the more notable shows to cut ties with Spacey. The Netflix political thriller went for six seasons with Spacey in the lead role as character Frank Underwood, a power-hungry congressman who becomes president.

In his ruling awarding House of Cards 30.9 million dollars, Recana wrote that Spacey and his attorneys “fail to demonstrate that this is even a close case” and “do not demonstrate that the damages award was so utterly irrational that it amounts to an arbitrary remaking of the parties’ contracts.” Spacey’s attorneys argued in their own filings that the decision to exclude him from the show’s sixth season came before an internal investigation that led the crew members to come forward, and thus was not part of a contract breach.

Spacey will face trial next year, faced with separate sexual assault charges. Last month, Spacey pleaded not guilty in London to charges of sexually assaulting three men a decade or more ago, denying all allegations.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.