Kevin Spacey Must Pay $31 Million to House of Cards Producers for Sexual Abuses
Abusers beware: you may be liable to your employer for your bad behavior
Many of the 2017 #MeToo allegations about sexual abuses in Hollywood were revealed thanks to brave women who came forward; some of whom did so at great legal risk because they were breaking non-disclosure agreements designed to keep them silent. While it’s not clear that this was the case for allegations leveled against actor Kevin Spacey, accountability is key for preventing future abuses.
A recent California court decision has ensured at least some financial accountability.
Last October, an arbitrator awarded $31 million to be paid by actor Kevin Spacey to producers of the Netflix show House of Cards for Spacey’s alleged breach of contract.
The show’s producers sued Spacey for millions in lost revenue after the actor was fired from the production over allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault against crew members.
Many of the previous allegations against the actor are quite disturbing and some date back decades, as is often common for men in power who go unchecked for years. Spacey mainly targeted young men; he is currently on trial in London for multiple sexual-assault charges between 2005 and 2013.
On the set of House of Cards, eight staff members accused Spacey of various sexual abuses, leading CNN to conclude in 2017:
Kevin Spacey made the set of Netflix's "House of Cards" into a "toxic" work environment through a pattern of sexual harassment, eight people who currently work on the show or worked on it in the past tell CNN. One former employee told CNN that Spacey sexually assaulted him.
All of this resulted in Netflix firing Spacey and writing him out of the show, at considerable cost to the network. Last month, the Los Angeles Superior Court affirmed an arbitrator’s $31 million award to Netflix, rejecting Spacey’s appeal.
The law firm reporting this news concluded:
This is a cautionary tale for those in positions of power who might be charged with illegally harassing their co-workers: The employer may not only fire such individuals, it also may seek affirmative relief against them in the form of monetary damages incurred by the employer as a result of their untoward actions.
Translation: if you abuse workers, you may be liable to your employer for your abuse, in addition to the workers you abused. This is good news for both employers and potential victims. The only way we can ever hope to stop workplace abuses is through greater accountability.