Spacey’s fiery testimony is the centerpiece of an ongoing trial to determine whether the production company behind the Netflix hit is owed $100 million in losses.

Kevin Spacey testifies on being ousted by House of Cards producers, claims it was on false grounds

Spacey's fiery testimony is the centerpiece of an ongoing trial to determine whether the production company behind the Netflix hit is owed $100 million in losses.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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March 11, 2026 1:22 a.m. ET

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Kevin Spacey appears outside of court in London in 2023. Credit:

Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty

- Kevin Spacey testified about his *House of Cards *firing in court on Tuesday, claiming it was made on false grounds.

- The claim, if true, could contravene production company Media Rights Capital's assertion that Spacey could not return to *House of Cards *season 6 due to a sexual compulsive disorder diagnosis.

- Media Rights Capital sued its insurer, Fireman's Fund, claiming it incurred $100 million in losses from Spacey's ousting after he was hit with numerous sexual misconduct allegations.

Kevin Spacey's personal house of cards is still tumbling down.

The actor at the center of multiple legal controversies appeared in the Superior Court of California on Tuesday to testify in a trial concerning an insurance dispute over his firing from season 6 of *House of Cards*.

Spacey's frank and fiery testimony, per *The Hollywood Reporter*, bucked expectations that he would bolster the case of the plaintiffs, Media Rights Capital, the show's production company, which is suing its insurer, Fireman’s Fund, to recoup $100 million in losses resulting from Spacey's ousting.

Rather than plead MRC's case that he suffered from a diagnosed sexual compulsion disorder, preventing him from returning to the show, Spacey alleged he was ousted because of the company's embarrassment. The disorder claim would enable producers to file a large insurance claim.

Kevin Spacey on season 2 of 'House of Cards'.

Nathaniel Bell/Netflix

* *has reached out to a representative for Spacey for comment.

Spacey was fired in November 2017, between *House of Cards*' fifth and sixth seasons. Netflix also terminated its agreement to release Spacey's film *Gore*, which was in post-production at the time, but did not clarify its reasons for either decision.

They may not have had to. Less than a week prior, Anthony Rapp came forward with allegations that Spacey made an unwanted sexual advance on him when the *Rent *actor was just 14. More allegations followed, but Spacey maintained his innocence with respect to Rapp's claims, and in 2021, a jury exonerated him of the specific allegation of molesting Rapp in 1986.

Spacey's firing sent out shockwaves that are still being felt by *House of Cards*' top producers today. MRC argued during an ensuing period of arbitration that the fallout from Spacey's misconduct allegations cost them millions. A private arbitrator agreed in 2020, finding that Spacey breached his contract by violating the MRC's sexual harassment policy, and ordering him to pay the company $31 million. MRC ultimately lowered that payment to $1 million on the condition that Spacey hand over medical records it planned to make central in the case against Fireman's Fund, *THR* reported.

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Lawyers for MRC argued in court on Tuesday that Spacey had a legitimate illness, diagnosed at an Arizona rehab facility he checked into after the *House of Cards *firing, which prevented him from returning to the series.

Michael Genovese, a psychiatrist MRC tapped as an expert witness for the trial, testified that Spacey was "unable to fulfill his duties on the set of *House of Cards *in 2017 as a result of this disease," per *THR*. He claimed "there was no way" Spacey could properly return as the conniving political operator Francis Underwood.

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But Spacey rejected those claims, alleging there were "comments attributed to me that I never said" within his medical records, and that while he cannot "professionally dispute" his sexual compulsive disorder diagnosis, "I can personally dispute it."

Kevin Spacey at the Cannes Film Festival in 2025.

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty

Spacey is also embroiled in litigation regarding the spate of sexual misconduct allegations he has faced since 2017. The actor was sued by three men in November alleging numerous instances of assault. One of the plaintiffs alleges Spacey assaulted him on 12 occasions between 2000 and 2005.

The three civil claims are set to commence at London's High Court in October 2026.

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