‘Sex and the City’ star Chris Noth denies sexual assault allegations made by two women who said they were triggered by his appearance in the show’s new HBO Max revival, ‘And Just Like That... .’ But the fallout has been swift.
The actor — who plays the husband of Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), known as ‘Mr Big’, on the TV series — is also questioning the timing of the accusations, which the Hollywood Reporter published Thursday.
“The accusations against me made by individuals I met years, even decades, ago are categorically false,” Noth, 67, said Thursday in a statement to The Times.
“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 continued. “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.”
Despite Noth’s denial, the allegations raised the possibility of legal consequences and led stationary-bike company Peloton to pull a new viral ad starring the actor.
The women who accused Noth were identified in THR’s report with pseudonyms and as a 31-year-old journalist and a 40-year-old who works in the entertainment industry. They approached the publication separately, months apart, and do not know each other, THR reported.
The entertainment industry professional accused Noth of raping her in Los Angeles in 2004 when she was 25, and her story was corroborated by at least three people in the report. According to THR, she told staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center that she had been assaulted, and two police officers came, but she did not identify who the person was.
The journalist told THR that Noth “pretty forcibly” had sex with her after a date in New York in 2015 when she was also 25 and while Noth was married. A friend corroborated her story, and the woman provided to THR text messages from Noth following the alleged incident.
The Los Angeles Police Dept on Thursday said it “is still looking into the nature of the report, and trying to narrow down when, where or if a report was filed,” according to Officer Drake Madison. A Deadline story said that the LAPD is in the early stages of investigating Noth over the 2004 allegation.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Dept was “not aware of” any reports or inquiries about the alleged assault in 2004, according to Sgt Juan Torres.
In California, the statute of limitations for sex crimes involving adults expires after 10 years, and a 2004 incident would be well out of that time frame.
In addition to ‘The Equalizer’ and ‘The Good Wife,’ Noth starred in ‘Sex and the City’ during the Emmy-winning comedy’s original run and its subsequent films. He made a brief but shocking appearance in the premiere episode of ‘And Just Like That...’ last week that quickly led to a buzzed-about Peloton ad related to his character.
That viral ad was produced by Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort in just 48 hours, but was promptly removed from Peloton’s Instagram, Twitter and YouTube accounts by Thursday afternoon. Reynolds, who provided a voiceover in the cheeky ad, also removed it from his Twitter account.
It’s unclear if the allegations will affect Noth’s involvement with ‘And Just Like That...’ given his character’s fate in the debut episode.
Representatives for HBO Max did not respond Thursday to The Times’ request for comment.
