Allegations against Kevin Spacey push actor out of House of Cards

On Oct. 29, Anthony Rapp flooded Twitter with accusations of assault directed toward actor Kevin Spacey.

Later the same day, Spacey released a statement neither confirming nor denying the accusation, but instead revealing to the world that he was a gay man.

The timing, which reads as “now’s a good as time as any,” leaves something to be desired. By now, everyone has heard the discourse surrounding this controversy. Spacey coming out at the same time answering accusations of assaulting a teenage boy has everyone rightfully upset.

Netflix, which plays home to the show House of Cards, has stepped in, suspending the show which Spacey is the star of. This seems like a positive step, and I certainly view it that way — allegations of him harassing and assaulting others involved in the production have also been flooding in — and this seems like a great way help protect those whom he might have harmed.

It seems positive, until you go into Netflix’s documentaries. This is going to take a while, so narrow your search for one Chris Brown.

Eight years ago, Brown made headlines for the physical abuse his then girlfriend Rihanna suffered one night after an award ceremony. In the car, Rihanna was beaten and the fallout afterward was heavily publicized.

I’m not finding fault with the fact that Netflix has suspended House of Cards, I find fault with the fact that Chris Brown’s documentary hasn’t also made the chopping block. Where do they draw the line? Because right now they’ve done so tentatively in the sand, and it won’t be long until that’s blown over.

Now, in 2017, Brown recently released a documentary titled Chris Brown: Welcome to My Life. Besides the fact that it sounds like an Avril Lavigne song, circa 2004, the documentary also holds a featured spot on Netflix.

So, here’s the problem I draw with this. You’re taking away the platform of one famous person who’s been in the media for the many allegations of sexual assault/harassment, but you’re openly giving a platform to another famous person who publically battered his girlfriend and then made a documentary about it?

In the effort of being fair, Brown speaks to that night. In his recall, Rihanna and him had both grown violent, but he was the one who took it too far and he was the one who had the final blow.

But, now Brown is regretful — just as I’m sure Spacey is — so naturally Netflix gave him a chance to tell his side. I wonder, in eight years, if Spacey is going to have his own documentary. Maybe it’ll be titled Kevin Spacey: a journey through my life.

Obviously, as I mentioned, Netflix did have valid concerns with continuing House of Cards. But, I won’t deny that this was also a publicity move. House of Cards ratings were already dropping, so Netflix swooping in and acting like one great big ally/hero doesn’t fully compute.

On the surface it seems like Netflix took one great big progressive step, until you pull back the curtain. Is Netflix going to take out the movies made by the Weinstein Company? Are they going to keep in Breakfast at Tiffany’s?

I’m not finding fault with the fact that Netflix has suspended House of Cards, I find fault with the fact that Chris Brown’s documentary hasn’t also made the chopping block. Where do they draw the line? Because right now they’ve done so tentatively in the sand, and it won’t be long until that’s blown over.