Two women have come forward with sexual assault claims against Chris Noth, describing separate incidents they say took place more than a decade apart.
The Hollywood Reporter broke the news of the allegations early Thursday. The article details claims made by two women identified by the pseudonyms Lily and Zoe.
Lily, now 31, said she was working as a server at the now-defunct New York nightclub No. 8 in 2015 when she met Noth, who asked her on a date. She said the “Sex and the City” actor asked to meet her for dinner at Il Cantinori ― incidentally the setting for a Season 4 episode of the HBO series ― before he raped her at his apartment in New York’s Greenwich Village neighborhood.
Now a journalist in the entertainment industry, Lily told the publication that she “buried” her memory of the assault for many years, and is fearful of repercussions if her identity is made public. Pointing to Noth’s role in the HBO Max series “And Just Like That...,” she added, “Seeing that he was reprising his role in ‘Sex and the City’ set off something in me.”
Zoe, now 40, said she was raped by Noth at an apartment in West Hollywood, California, in 2004. “I was 25 at the time,” she told THR. “It was a lot. I didn’t know what to do.”
Her claims were corroborated by a former boss, who said she witnessed Noth speaking to Zoe at her desk prior to the incident. A staff member at the UCLA Rape Crisis Center confirmed that Zoe had been treated at the facility in 2006, but did not offer details on her alleged attacker.
Noth denied the allegations in an email statement sent to HuffPost by his representatives. “The accusations against me made by individuals I met years, even decades, ago are categorically false,” he said. “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,” he continued. “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.”
Los Angeles police told Deadline later Thursday that it was not actively looking into sexual assault allegations against Noth.
“There is no investigation at this point,” Officer Drake Madison told the outlet.
Noth is currently reprising his role as Mr. Big ― the on-again, off-again paramour of Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw ― in “And Just Like That...,” the much-hyped “Sex and the City” revival series. Many fans expressed shock that Mr. Big died of a heart attack after a Peloton workout in the series premiere, which aired last week, though there have been hints the character will reappear in later episodes.