She opened up about the sexual misconduct scandal that led to her co-star’s firing from the Netflix show during Monday’s ‘Today’ show interview.
The news of allegations of sexual misconduct against Kevin Spacey were just as much of a shock to his House of Cards co-stars as they were to the rest of the world. Netflix ultimately fired Spacey, 58, from the series in November, ahead of its sixth and final season.
During an interview with the Today show, which aired on Monday, star Robin Wright, who plays Claire Underwood, the wife of Spacey’s Frank Underwood and the new president, opened up about the aftermath of her co-star’s scandal.
“I think we were all surprised, of course, and ultimately saddened,” Wright, 52, said. “We forged ahead and we were so thankful that we were able to complete the series as planned.”
The Spacey allegations began with actor Anthony Rapp, who accused Spacey of making sexual advances toward him when he was just 14 years old. Wright made it clear that she saw no indication of this during her time with Spacey on set.
“We were coworkers really. We never socialized outside of work, respectful professional relationship. He was so great with me,” she said of Spacey. “He was never disrespectful to me. That’s my personal experience. That’s the only thing I feel that I have the right to talk about.”
Noting she hasn’t heard from Spacey and doesn’t “even know how to reach him,” Wright explained, “Kevin and I knew each other between action and cut and in between setups where we would giggle. I didn’t really, I didn’t know the man. I knew the incredible craftsman that he is.”
When interviewer Savannah Guthrie asked Wright if she felt Netflix had made the right decision in firing Spacey, she replied, “I don’t know how to comment on that, but I think at that time the shock was so intense all over the nation for many reasons, many stories, many people, I think that everybody felt that it was respectful to back off.”
Wright also said “who hasn’t” when asked if she’d ever been sexually harassed in her industry.
“This is a bigger, broader issue, I think. Seduction, I don’t care who you are, it’s about power. And once you overpower someone, that person then becomes vulnerable,” she said. “This last year I think has shined a light in a new way to allow us to start a new conversation, so we just need to shift the paradigm.”
The final season of House of Cards will be released this fall on Netflix.
For more, watch the clip below:
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