The stars of Sex And The City have broken their silence on allegations of sexual assault against their co-star Chris Noth, expressing support for the women who came forward.
"We are deeply saddened to hear the allegations against Chris Noth," said a statement posted on social media on Monday (Dec 20) by Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon.
"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."
Allegations of sexual assault against Noth, 67, were reported by The Hollywood Reporter in an article published Dec 16 after the trade outlet was contacted by two anonymous women – who do not know each other – months apart.
One woman alleged that Noth raped her in his West Hollywood apartment in 2004 after she went to return a book he had lent to her when they met at the building's pool.
She was 22 at the time of the incident and went to hospital to receive stitches due to her injuries, she said.
The other woman said she was on a date with Noth in New York in 2015 when he invited her back to his apartment, where he allegedly assaulted her.
Noth recently reprised his role as Mr Big in the Sex And The City sequel, And Just Like That..., in which his character dies of a heart attack in the first episode after working out on a Peloton exercise bike.
The exercise company quickly pulled a parody ad featuring Noth in the wake of the assault allegations.
The two women told The Hollywood Reporter that renewed publicity surrounding Noth and the sequel had been "triggering" and had led them to come forward with their accounts.
He has denied the allegations, saying the encounters with the women in 2004 and 2015 were "consensual".
"The accusations against me made by individuals I met years, even decades, ago are categorically false," Noth, 67, said in a written statement.
A day after The Hollywood Reporter article was published, a third woman told The Daily Beast that Noth had assaulted her in New York City in 2010, when she was 18.
Noth, who has since been dropped by his talent agency and from the CBS series The Equalizer, according to statements carried by local media, has also denied the third allegation. – AFP
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