House of Cards Is Done After Next Season

After actor Anthony Rapp made his explosive accusation that Kevin Spacey attempted to have a sexual encounter with him when Rapp was just 14, Spacey quickly apologized. But that apology itself has been under withering criticism all day, with the main complaint being that Spacey also used his note to come out as gay and, as critics see it, deflect attention from Rapp's allegation. Meanwhile, the upcoming sixth season of House and Cards is still in the works, but it will be the last, a decision that TVLine reports is unrelated to the new controversy. Here's a look at developments:

• House of Cards: Netflix decided Monday that the upcoming season of the show, set to air in 2018, will be the final one, reports Deadline. Whether the move is related to the Spacey controversy, however, is unclear. The Hollywood Reporter says the decision had been in the works for months, and TVLine reports that a company rep said the move is unrelated to the Spacey news.
• Online buzz: BuzzFeed rounds up tweets on the subject from people hoping and/or fearing that Netflix will pull the plug even earlier. One fan, however, offered an alternative. Netflix, "please fire Kevin Spacey and make House of Cards completely about Claire Underwood thank you and goodbye," she tweeted.
• Wrong time: LGBT groups in general think Spacey blew it by linking his apology to his sexuality announcement. "Coming-out stories should not be used to deflect from allegations of sexual assault," says Sarah Kate Ellis, chief of GLAAD, per the Hollywood Reporter. "This is not a coming-out story about Kevin Spacey, but a story of survivorship by Anthony Rapp and all those who bravely speak out against unwanted sexual advances."
• Hurting the movement: In a story about the backlash, the Washington Post highlights this tweet: "Kevin Spacey has set gay rights back fifty years by a) conflating homosexuality with paedophilia and b) Saying that being gay is a 'choice.'" (In his statement, Spacey said he was now choosing to "live as a gay man," having had relationships with both men and women over the years.)

• Creator's take: House of Cards creator Beau Willimon wrote that Rapp's allegations were "deeply troubling" and that he'd seen no behavior of that kind from Spacey, reports People. "I take reports of such behavior seriously and this is no exception," he adds. "I feel for Mr. Rapp and I support his courage.” Willimon left as showrunner in 2016.
• Seth MacFarlane gag: Mashable calls attention to a short gag on Family Guy back in 2005 in which Stewie runs through a mall shouting, "I've escaped from Kevin Spacey's basement. Help me!" Show creator Seth MacFarlane notably foreshadowed the Harvey Weinstein scandal when hosting the Oscars in 2013, joking that honorees "no longer have to be pretend to be attracted" to Weinstein.
• Rose McGowan: The actress who has become a champion of victims in the wake of the Weinstein scandal tweeted, "Bye bye, Spacey goodbye, it's your turn to cry, that's why we've gotta say goodbye." She wasn't alone. Rosie O'Donnell ("we all knew about u") and Wanda Sykes ("you do not get to 'choose' to hide under the rainbow") were among the gay celebrities taking Spacey to task, reports Fox News.
• 'Calculated' move? At the Daily Beast, Ira Madison III amplifies all of the above, writing that Spacey's decision to come out as gay was a "cold and calculated" PR ploy. "It will absolutely overshadow Rapp's story, which is exactly what Spacey was counting on."

(More Kevin Spacey stories.)