The leads of Sex and the City's recent reboot And Just Like That have responded to sexual assault allegations made by two women against their fellow castmate, Chris Noth.
Cynthia Nixon – who plays Miranda in the series and its reboot – shared a statement on social media, signed by herself, Sarah Jessica Parker (Carrie) and Kristin Davis (Charlotte).
"We are deeply saddened to hear the allegations against Chris Noth, " they said in the statement on Tuesday. "We support the women who have come forward and shared their painful experiences. We know it must be a very difficult thing to do and we commend them for it."
In the wake of the allegations, Chris Noth will no longer be part of the CBS series The Equalizer.
Universal Television and CBS made a joint announcement Monday that Noth, best known for his character Mr Big on the show Sex the City, would no longer be part of filming "effective immediately".
Noth has played a former CIA director on The Equalizer, which stars Queen Latifah. Noth will appear in at least one upcoming episode.
'These stories could've been from 30 years ago or 30 days ago – no always means no – that is a line I did not cross'
Noth’s representatives had no immediate comment on The Equalizer decision.
Two women accused Noth of sexual assault in a story reported last week by the Hollywood Reporter. The women describe similar alleged rapes by the 67-year-old actor more than a decade apart. Both say they met Noth in their early 20s.
Noth vehemently denied the allegations, which date back to 2004 and 2015. In a statement to the Hollywood Reporter, Noth called the claims “categorically false”.
“These stories could’ve been from 30 years ago or 30 days ago – no always means no – that is a line I did not cross,” he said. “The encounters were consensual. It’s difficult not to question the timing of these stories coming out. I don’t know for certain why they are surfacing now, but I do know this: I did not assault these women.”
One of the women who accused Noth of assaulting her said his reprisal of his Mr Big character on the Sex and the City sequel, And Just Like That, prompted her to speak out about the actor.
Noth’s demise in the first episode of the show led to widespread attention. – Guardian, additional reporting from AP
