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Sex & The City actor Chris Noth – aka Mr Big – has slammed the sexual assault allegations brought against him by several women as having “absolutely no basis in fact”.
The accusations, which surfaced in December 2021, resulted in him being dropped from several projects including the season finale of the Sex & the City revival series, And Just Like That . . . as well as future episodes of the crime drama series The Equalizer.
He also lost a $12-million (R216-million) deal for his tequila brand, Ambhar, and was dropped by his talent agency.
In his first interview since then, the 68-year-old says the women’s stories are “completely ridiculous” but that there is nothing he could say to change anyone’s minds “when you have that kind of tidal wave”.
He admits he did cheat on his wife, Tara Wilson (40), with whom he has two sons – Orion (15) and Keats (3).
“I strayed on my wife and it's devastating to her and not a very pretty picture. What it isn’t is a crime,” he told USA Today.
While he married his wife in 2012, they had been in a relationship since the early 2000s, which was when the three women alleged the incidents occurred.
One of the women claimed the actor forced himself on her in the back office of the restaurant where she was working as a hostess. She was 18 at the time, he 55.
In a statement to USA Today at the time, Chris strongly condemned their statements.
“The accusations against me made by individuals I met years, even decades, ago are categorically false. 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.”
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He stands by his initial statement but says his adultery was wrong.
“You give yourself the same excuses that many men do; it's just a little side dance, and it's fun," he says. "You're not hurting anybody. You think no one’s going to know about this, you know, and sex is just enjoyable. And suddenly, a lot of people want to have sex with you. It’s like, 'Well, I'm not going to get this chance again.'”
At the time of the allegations, his female co-stars – Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon – released a statement showing their support for the women.
“We are deeply saddened to hear the allegations against Chris Noth,” it read. “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.”
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Chris is now partnering with bespoke suit company Samuelsohn to launch an awareness campaign about men’s mental health.
Despite the public fallout, Chris says he's “not going to lay down and just say it's over”.
“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. People are afraid of all this.
“I have to just continue on”.
Sources: usmagazine.com, usatoday
