Netflix has released a Fourth of July message from House of Cards‘ President Claire Underwood.
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The show’s official Twitter account posted the short clip on Wednesday morning. It serves as an acknowledgement of the holiday and also a hauntingly simple teaser for House of Cards’ forthcoming season.
The series has been in turmoil ever since star Kevin Spacey was one of the powerful men deposed in the #MeToo movement. Now, followers have a 12 second glimpse of his replacement Commander-in-Chief.
A message from the President of the United States. pic.twitter.com/yx0P3qyHfW
โ House of Cards (@HouseofCards) July 4, 2018
“Happy Independence Day… To me,” she says, before the hashtag “my turn” flashes across the screen.
After much discussion, Netflix chose to fire Spacey from the show but keep the production rolling. His character, Frank Underwood, will be replaced by his equally power-hungry wife, Claire, who is played by Robin Wright. Claire rose to political power in her own right throughout the series, manipulating Frank into making her his Vice President in season 4.
Last season, she even double-crossed Frank — agreeing to pardon him if he resigned from the presidency, thereby leaving her to assume the office. As soon as he was out, she decided not to give him the pardon. The season ended with a break in the fourth wall, signifying that Claire would take over as the lead character.
“My turn,” she said to the camera.
Accusations against Spacey continue to rack up, with three new ones coming to light just this week. The victims spoke up in February and April, detailing sexual assaults they allegedly suffered at Spacey’s hands — one in 2008 and one in 2013. All three were in the U.K., leaving the possibility of legal action unclear.
In total, more than a dozen men have come forward with allegations against Spacey. It all began in October, when actor Anthony Rapp broke his silence on an assault that he said occured in 1986. Rapp told his story to reporters from Buzzfeed, describing how he had gone to a party in Spacey’s apartment in Manhattan as a teenager.
“My memory was that I thought, Oh, everybody’s gone. Well, yeah, I should probably go home,” Rapp said.
However, at that point Rapp said that Spacey lifted him up, “like a groom picks up the bride over the threshold. But I don’t, like, squirm away initially, because I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ And then he lays down on top of me.”
After that, more people were emboldened to go public with their own experiences as the #MeToo movement progressed.