Bye Bye, Underwood: Hollywood Reels Under Onslaught of Sex Scandals

A string of sex scandals that rocked the US this year has taken its toll on the Dream Factory’s creations as Hollywood stars fall while movies and TV series get cancelled.

Netflix has already announced that the sixth season of House of Cards TV won’t be featuring the series’ villainous protagonist Frank Underwood played by Kevin Spacey who was recently accused of sexual harassment.

This development however has not been the only example of accusations of sexual misconduct effectively torpedoing the careers of movie stars and resulting in cancelled projects.

Enter Harvey Weinstein. The once powerful and influential Hollywood producer suddenly found himself facing accusations of rape and sexual harassment from about 80 women, including A-listers like Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ashley Judd.

As a result Weinstein got fired from the very studio he once founded, the Weinstein Company (TWC), with his long-standing clients like Quentin Tarantino hurrying to sever relations with the disgraced producer.

This file photo taken on January 10, 2013 shows (L-R) Co-Chairman of Creative Artists Agency Bryan Lourd, director Ben Affleck and co-chairmen of The Weinstein Company Harvey Weinstein attending the 18th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards held at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California

© AFP 2023 / Christopher Polk / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA

The scandal also caused TWC to suspend the release of The Current War, a biographical historical film starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Shannon that was originally set to be released in November 2017. The studio also intends to remove Harvey Weinstein’s name from the credits of all of its upcoming movies and series.

The fallout of the scandal however was not limited to TWC and affected the studio’s partners as well.

In October Amazon Studios president Roy Price had to resign after sexual harassment allegations brought forward by Isa Hackett, the producer of The Man in the High Castle series.

Roy Price, head of Amazon Studios, participates in the "Hand of God" panel at the Amazon Summer TCA Tour at the Beverly Hilton Hotel Monday, Aug. 3, 2015, in Beverly Hills, Calif

© AP Photo / Richard Shotwell/Invision

The studio also cut its ties with TWC, which resulted in the cancellation of a TV drama by David O. Russell that was expected to star Robert De Niro and Julianne Moore.

The Weinstein scandal also led Apple to cancel its deal with the studio regarding a biopic series about Elvis Presley.

Warner Bros moved to sever its ties with film producer and director Brett Ratner who faces sexual harassment allegations from six women, including actresses Natasha Henstridge and Olivia Munn.

From left, American actress Rebecca Romijn, Dutch actress Famke Janssen, American actress Halle Berry, American director Brett Ratner, British actor Ian McKellen, and unidentified guest arrive for the screening of the film "X-Men: The Last Stand," at the 59th International film festival in Cannes, southern France, on Monday, May 22, 2006

© AP Photo / Jeff Christensen

As a result, the filming of a biopic about Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, which Ratner was expected to direct, got suspended.

Meanwhile, HBO decided not to film the mini-series about Donald Trump’s victory during the 2016 presidential election. The series were expected to be based on an as yet unpublished book by Mark Halperin, a political journalist who is now facing sexual harassment accusations levelled against him by five women.