Netflix Loses $39 Million in Write-Downs After Scrapping Kevin Spacey Projects

Netflix lost $39 million in a write-down related to its dropping of all projects involving Kevin Spacey, according to Deadline.com.

Though Netflix did not specify which unreleased content led to the write-down, a source close to the matter told Deadline that it accounted for the halted production of House of Cards’ last season and the film Gore, both of which involved Spacey, 58.

The write-down comes after Netflix’s record fourth-quarter earnings for 2017. Its streaming revenue was $11.6 billion, marking a 36% increase.

Netflix’s CFO David Wells said the write-down was a result of the change in societal views of sexual harassment.

Netflix initially cancelled and stopped production on the political drama House of Cards in October after 46-year-old actor Anthony Rapp told Buzzfeed about an encounter he’d had in 1986 when Spacey, then 26 years old, made sexual advances toward him when Rapp was 14 years old.

On House of Cards, Spacey played the show’s lead character, Frank Underwood. After pausing the show’s production and suspending Spacey, Netflix announced that Robin Wright – who played Claire Underwood, Spacey’s character’s wife – would take over as the lead.

The company also cancelled its release of Gore, which starred and was produced by Spacey.