Kevin Spacey discusses allegations and Netflix in new Tucker Carlson ‘interview’

Kevin Spacey has rekindled his tradition of appearing in a strange new video for Christmas, reviving his House of Cards role of Frank Underwood. 

The actor appeared in character with the US conservative host Tucker Carlson on the latter’s X show in a seven-minute ‘interview’ segment, in which they discussed the 2024 presidential election and the state of the media. 

When Carlson introduces the subject of Netflix, the studio that produced House of Cards, Spacey says: “It is bizarre they decided to publicly cut ties with me on allegations alone, allegations that have now been proven false. Because I don’t think there’s any question.” 

“Netflix exists because of me. I put them on the map and they tried to put me in the ground.” 

Spacey played the egotistical US President Frank Underwood for six seasons of the show before being fired in 2017 after facing a string of sexual misconduct allegations. 

In July, Spacey was acquitted of all nine charges he was facing, including seven counts of sexual assault, one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity. 

He had been accused of sexual offences against four men, alleged to have taken place between 2001 and 2013. He was accused of performing a sex act on a former aspiring actor while he slept, and of several other assaults – including grabbing a driver’s crotch during a car ride to a celebrity party outside London. 

From 2018 to 2020, Spacey released a series of bizarre videos in character as Underwood, in which he addressed the camera directly and made references to both the actions of his character and the real-life allegations against him. 

In the new video, Spacey’s character is asked whether he is considering running in 2024. “I think we could both agree that we need to get some adults back in the room, so if that means taking on the chief executive role, that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make for this nation,” he replies. 

“Our country needs to stop apologising and stiffen up. We have so many people running with so many different issues, like gun control, but let’s be honest, more people are killed by online trolls everyday.” 

Tucker asked him whether this was part of the episode, or something real, to which Spacey replied: “It’s probably a little of both. I mean, Tucker, what’s true and what’s false? What’s life and what’s art? What’s real, what’s performance? I love it when these things intersect because then it gets interesting.” 

In October, Spacey made his first return to the stage since being cleared. He performed a brief scene from Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens at a theatre in Oxford, during a lecture held in memory of the late conservative philosopher Roger Scruton. Spacey received a standing ovation for the performance. 

Just weeks prior to that, the actor had been rushed to hospital after experiencing a health scare in Uzbekistan. 

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