As Sex and the City fans count down the days until the show’s revival, And Just Like That, drops on HBO on December 9, Chris Noth says he’s feeling “protective” over costar Sarah Jessica Parker following Kim Cattrall‘s refusal to reprise her character of Samantha Jones. Kim has had some pretty salty things to say about SJP as the actress and executive producer worked to bring another chapter of SATC back to life.
“I just wish that whole thing had never happened because it was sad and uncomfortable. I just don’t like to see anyone talking down about SJ, because she’s a target and people can be nasty,” the man who plays Mr. Big told the U.K.’s The Guardian.
“I have to tell you, I have absolutely no idea what her thinking is, or her emotions. I do know that I’m very close with SJ and [Kim’s] descriptions of her don’t even come close. I liked her, I thought she was marvelous in the show and some people move on for their own reasons. I don’t know what hers were,” Chris continued.
SJP hoped to get the cast back together for a Sex and the City 3 film for several years, but Kim was dead set against being part of it. Sarah told Extra in September 2017, “It’s over. We’re not doing it. … I’m disappointed.”
She continued, “We had this beautiful, funny, heartbreaking, joyful, very relatable script and story. It’s not just disappointing that we don’t get to tell the story and have that experience, but I think more so for that audience that has been so vocal about wanting another movie.”
The following day, Kim set the record straight that she made no demands that Warner Bros. produce other projects she had in the works or that she would refuse to reprise playing Samantha. She tweeted on September 29, 2017, that, “The only ‘DEMAND’ I ever made was that I didn’t want to do a 3rd film … and that was back in 2016.”
The following month, Kim revealed in an interview with Piers Morgan that there was no SATC on her horizon. “Not for me. That was part of turning 60. That was a very clear moment of, how many years do I have left and what do I want to do with it? What haven’t I done? I feel that the show was the best when it was the series, and the bonus was the two movies.”
The actress then got personal, saying she had “never been friends” with SJP, and addressed rumors that her demands killed a SATC 3 film. “This is really where I take to task the people from Sex and the City and specifically Sarah Jessica Parker,” she told Piers. “I think she could’ve been nicer. I really think she could’ve been nicer. I don’t know what her issue is.”
During a February 2018 stop by Watch What Happens Live, host Andy Cohen asked pal SJ about Kim’s comment that they were “never friends.” She said it left her “heartbroken,” and that, “The whole week … I was really, I found it very upsetting because that’s not the way I recall our experience.”
When Kim’s 55-year-old brother died in February 2018, SJP shared on the Filthy Rich star’s Instagram comments, “Dearest Kim, my love and condolences to you and yours and Godspeed to your beloved brother. Xx.” But Kim wasn’t having it, AT ALL. She shared an Instagram post reading, “I don’t need your love and support at this tragic time,” and added a scathing caption.
“My Mom asked me today ‘When will that @sarahjessicaparker, that hypocrite, leave you alone?’ Kim wrote, adding, “Your continuous reaching out is a painful reminder of how cruel you really were then and now. Let me make this VERY clear. (If I haven’t already) You are not my family. You are not my friend. So I’m writing to tell you one last time to stop exploiting our tragedy in order to restore your ‘nice girl’ persona.” Ouch! No wonder Chris feels “protective” over SJP.