.png)
4 hours ago
3
America’s 250th anniversary celebrations are not exactly going to plan. A wealth of acts have pulled out of semiquincentennial concerts. An mock-up of Donald Trump’s planned Triumphal Arch at the Great American State Fair is visibly oozing. Some of Disney’s celebratory Americana apparel range was found to have been made in China. But, as ever, things could be worse. After all, you could have chosen to spend the anniversary wearing a Kevin Spacey ring.
Because, in a sentence that nobody could have ever expected to read, Kevin Spacey is selling a special edition signet ring to commemorate America’s independence.
That’s right, if you have £110 (£228 if you want it personalised) and are prepared to wait three months for delivery, then you – yes, you! – can be the proud owner of a “gold-tone” stainless steel ring that not only says “I love America” but also “I am willing to overlook numerous complaints about Kevin Spacey’s sexual impropriety.” The ring bears the legend Per Ardua, Ad Astra (“Through adversity, to the stars”), which is not only the motto of the RAF (a weird choice for a ring commemorating America’s independence) but also seems to be about Kevin Spacey’s belief that he will have a credible career again. It also has a giant “FU” on it, because of course it does.
The FU stands for Frank Underwood, the character Spacey played on Netflix’s House of Cards until Netflix stopped employing him and an arbitrator ordered him to pay its production company $31m for violating the show’s harassment policy (although in 2024 this was reduced to $1m). Again, this is a strange thing to put on a ring in the year 2026. Kevin Spacey has won two Oscars, for The Usual Suspects and American Beauty, and surely that represents the peak era of his career. And yet, rather than Keyser Söze, he’s referencing a television series that has become toxic from its association with him.
Chris Rock has a routine about people liking music from the period when they lost their virginity, and a similar thing seems to have happened with Spacey. Even though nobody has really thought about House of Cards for at least a decade, it was nevertheless the last time that Kevin Spacey was professionally relevant, and so now he finds himself trapped in it. In the genuinely bewildering series of YouTube videos he posted at Christmas between 2018 and 2023, either alone or with Tucker Carlson, he appeared as Frank Underwood. And now, once again, he is reaching back to the last time he had any power in order to sell a ring that surely nobody actually wants.
But back to the ring. Anyone who wants one has until 22 July to buy one, because only a limited number have been produced. Small print on the ring’s Shopify site states that they are being made to order, and this is why – along with what is described as “Kevin Spacey’s active work schedule” – they will take several months to arrive. If you would like the super deluxe personalised option, you have a maximum of 20 characters to play with, although “offensive or inappropriate messages will not be accepted”. Once it arrives, it is advised that you avoid water, moisture, perfumes, lotions, harsh chemicals and exercising.
Only Spacey will know how well these rings will sell. There is a chance that the world might be underestimating the man’s popularity, and soon the streets will be filled with people all publicly professing their support for him via the medium of ugly jewellery.
And if the scheme is a success, it is only natural that other stars will see this as their way out of cancellation. Perhaps in years to come, lucky customers may one day we might even get to sport our very own decorative Harvey Weinstein anklet. Who could possibly say no to that?
