‘This Is Us’ Cut a Kevin Spacey Reference Over Sexual Assault Claims
House of Cards isn’t the only drama changing plans in the wake of Kevin Spacey’s assault allegations. According to a new report, NBC’s This Is Us cut a brief reference to the controversial star from Tuesday’s Halloween episode.
TVLine reports that a brief 2008-set scene from Tuesday’s “The 20s” was to feature a reference to Spacey, who has come under scrutiny this week over allegations of sexually assaulting a then-underage Anthony Rapp in 1986. The moment in question was featured on press screeners, as Kevin (Justin Hartley)’s roommate mentions booking a gig in a Kevin Spacey movie. 20th Century Fox Television stated simply, “In light of recent events, the producers have decided to remove the brief reference to Kevin Spacey.”
Only hours earlier, Netflix confirmed that House of Cards Season 6 will shut down production to assess its future with Spacey, who was off-set at the time allegations broke. The series was confirmed to end with its sixth season, though Netflix was allegedly looking at the possibility of a spinoff.
It doesn’t appear as if any meaning was assigned to the would-be Spacey reference from This Is Us, though a number of other TV series have gotten unexpected spotlight for now-topical references to Spacey’s misdeeds. Hulu Difficult People star Julie Klausner retweeted a thread of numerous Spacey jokes over the course of the series, while some have also pointed to Family Guy referencing rumors around the House of Cards star.
It also remains unclear if This Is Us will remove the reference from all airings or copies of the episode, but stay tuned for the latest on industry reactions to the Spacey news.
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