Sex and the City star Chris Noth is speaking out after two years of silence following sexual assault allegations that led to his dismissal from CBS’ The Equalizer and sudden death in Max’s And Just Like That.
“I strayed on my wife, and it’s devastating to her and not a very pretty picture,” the 68-year-old said in an interview with USA Today. “What it isn’t is a crime.”
Two women accused the actor of sexually assaulting them, sharing stories about reported incidents in 2004 and 2015 in different cities. In response to the claims, Noth said in December 2021, “The accusations against me made by individuals I met years, even decades, ago are 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. 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.”
A third woman came forward to The Daily Beast accusing Noth of sexual assault, and the actor again denied the claims.
Noth was removed from the Season 1 finale of the Sex and the City revival. Mr. Big’s character was set to feature in a fantasy sequence where Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) reunited with her former lover while scattering his ashes at Paris’ Seine River. However, Mr. Big was killed off in the first episode of And Just Like That after suffering a heart attack following a workout on a Peloton and was not seen after. The character’s surprise death was planned well before the allegations of sexual assault came to light.
Meanwhile, Noth’s The Equalizer character, William Bishop, was killed offscreen. Noth’s last on-screen appearance came in the January 2, 2022 episode, “Separated,” which was filmed prior to his being dropped from the series on December 20, 2021.
“There’s nothing I can say to change anyone’s mind when you have that kind of a tidal wave,” Noth told USA Today. “It sounds defensive. I’m not. There’s no criminal court. There’s no criminal trial. There’s nothing for me to get on the stand about and get my story out, get witnesses. And there’s even more absurd add-ons that are completely ridiculous, that have absolutely no basis in fact.”
USA Today notes the TV vet, also known for his work on Law & Order and The Good Wife, is currently directing and starring in Eugene Ionesco’s play Rhinoceros at a theater in rural Massachusetts.
“I’m not going to lay down and just say it’s over,” he stated, seemingly touching on his career. “It’s a salacious story, but it’s just not a true one. And I can’t just say ‘Well, OK, that’s it for me’ because of that. I’m an actor. I have other things that I want to do creatively. And I have children to support. I can’t just rest on my laurels. So yeah, I have enough to let a year drift, but I don’t know how to gauge or judge getting back into the club, the business, because corporations are frightened…. I have to just continue on. It’s rough, because people are scared, and their fear leads them. And I have to just persevere because I still have a creative life.”
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