The actress had a lot to say about fan reactions to the reboot but was mostly mum about Noth's allegations.
Sarah Jessica Parker has a lot to get off her chest when it comes to the criticism And Just Like That faced as the show evolved from its "relic" origin that is Sex and the City.
But while she talks extensively on that topic for The Hollywood Reporter's cover story, the 57-year-old actress struggles to address the wave of sexual assault allegations leveled at Chris Noth that derailed Noth's career and muddied season 1 of the HBO Max reboot.
Parker, who in the past has referred to SATC as a "relic," opens up in THR's New York Issue about how the show navigated sex, politics, race and gender. "The burden is not on me because I can't write, but [showrunner] Michael [Patrick King] knew that," she says. "[The question was] how do we open that world up? And how do we make it real? We have a great writing room of, once again, all women, but the room is more diverse now. That wasn't a mandate, no one told us it had to be that way. Michael wanted it that way, and it will continue to evolve."
And, speaking of evolving, Parker is cognizant of the fact that fans of the original HBO hit series have strong feelings about how much the reboot incorporated the societal changes that have occurred since SATC ended in February 2004. And those fans conveyed their strong feelings on social media, a medium still in its infancy at the height of SATC.
"Obviously, we're aware that people have opinions, and there will be peripheral chatter specific to the HBO show," she explains. "We care that they're engaged and enjoying it, flipped out, upset, thrilled, devastated, but you can’t have a result in mind and then try to back into it with the writing. That would just be awful. And that would be like riding a bike with a gang of 10 million."
And, for what it's worth, the criticism the reboot faced didn't faze the show.
"Michael’s not afraid of chatter," Parker says. "There’s just so much out there, so if someone’s talking about us -- which they were apparently every week with recaps and breakdowns -- Michael’s like, 'You can’t beg for that [kind of attention]. So let’s keep doing what we’re doing.'"
Parker -- who also serves as a producer on And Just Like That -- was asked about Noth being accused by two women for sexual misconduct as the reboot premiered in December 2021. Noth has denied the allegations.
"I don't even know if I'm ready to talk about it, but I don't think ... I wasn't reacting as a producer. I should have worked on this because I'm just ... it's just...," she trails off before the interviewer then asks her if she's spoken to Noth since the allegations surfaced. Parker responds succinctly, "No."
The Hollywood Reporter initially published a report in which two women alleged Noth sexually assaulted them, with The Daily Beast publishing another woman's account. Shortly after, Noth was fired from his role on The Equalizer. Singer Lisa Gentile later came forward, also accusing Noth of sexual assault.
Parker, along with her co-stars, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis, then released a joint statement, expressing their sadness over the allegations leveled against Noth, and their support for the women who have come forward.
"We are deeply saddened to hear the allegations against Chris Noth. We support the women who have come forward and share their painful experiences. We know it must be a very difficult thing to do and we commend them for it," the post read, before Parker, Nixon and Davis signed off on the joint statement.
Noth, whose character's sudden death in the premiere episode shocked fans, was ultimately removed from the series, a decision that had the full support from, among others, the show's leading ladies.
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