(This story includes descriptions of alleged sexual assaults.)
Chris Noth isn't denying any wrongdoing, but he's doubling down that he committed no crime.
The embattled actor, known for playing Mr Big in Sex And The City and Det. Mike Logan on Law & Order, is speaking out about the sexual assault allegations made against him by a number of women in late 2021.
The allegations spanned decades and varied from rape to crude remarks and forceful groping. Noth denied the allegations when they initially surfaced and now he's doubling down, calling them "ridiculous."
"I strayed on my wife, and it's devastating to her and not a very pretty picture," he told USA Today in a feature published Monday (Aug 7). "What it isn't is a crime."
In the wake of the allegations, fallout came swiftly for the actor: Noth was dropped by talent agency A3 Artists Agency, axed from CBS' The Equalizer and scrubbed from a viral ad for Peloton that came out on the heels of his And Just Like That ... character's demise.
A reported US$12mil deal with Entertainment Arts Research Inc. to acquire his tequila brand, Ambhar, also fell through, according to the New York Post and Fox Business.
Noth's former Sex And The City co-stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis issued a joint statement saying they were "saddened" by the allegations and supported and commended the women for coming forward.
"The story is a complete fabrication, and the alleged accounts detailed throughout read like a piece of bad fiction," a spokesperson for Noth said in a statement to the L.A. Times in December 2021.
Noth's stance hasn't changed, and his mea culpa didn't acknowledge the numerous women's allegations, only his failure to remain faithful to his wife.
"You give yourself the same excuses that many men do; it's just a little side dance, and it's fun," he told the outlet.
"You're not hurting anybody. 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.'"
No criminal charges have been filed, but Noth acknowledged the potential for civil lawsuits, calling them a "money train."
"There's nothing I can say to change anyone's mind when you have that kind of a tidal wave," Noth said. "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. And I don't like talking about it because as soon as I do, you'll get the Daily Mail or someone grabbing a part of it and doing it, and I don't want my kids seeing that."
But the actor has no intention of slinking away, instead saying he refuses to "lay down" and accept that "it's over."
Noth said he still has creative things he wants to do and blames his absence from the business on corporate fear.
"People are afraid of all this. Fear is the overriding operative word when it comes to whether they believe it or not. ... 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."
In December 2021, the Hollywood Reporter published the accounts of two women – who the outlet said approached it separately, months apart, and did not know each other – prompted by promos for HBO's series And Just Like That ..., in which Noth reprised his SATC role as Mr Big.
One woman alleged Noth raped her in Los Angeles in 2004; the other alleged she was raped by the actor in New York around 2015.
One said she went to the hospital afterward and received stitches. After the expose went live, other women came forward to allege that they had been sexually assaulted or otherwise mistreated by Noth. – Los Angeles Times/Tribune News Service
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