Days after Chris Noth’s buzzy appearance in HBO Max’s Sex and the City reboot And Just Like That…, The Hollywood Reporter reported on December 16 that two women had come forward with allegations that the actor sexually assaulted them. Both women separately approached THR with their stories, the first in August and the other in October, and said they were moved to speak out after witnessing Noth’s repeated appearances in marketing materials for And Just Like That…
“Seeing that he was reprising his role in Sex and the City set off something in me,” said one of the women, whom THR gave the pseudonym “Zoe.” “For so many years, I buried it.”
In response, Noth sent THR the following statement: “The accusations against me made by individuals I met years, even decades, ago are categorically false. 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. 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.”
According to Zoe—whose account is backed up by former co-workers and friends—the then-22-year-old worked for an entertainment firm in 2004 where Noth “regularly had business,” per THR. “This was peak Sex and the City,” Zoe’s former boss told the outlet. “He was like a god to us.” Noth would allegedly speak with Zoe at her desk and even leave her flirtatious voicemails, which, at the time, Zoe considered harmless. Later, Zoe says the actor invited her to one of his apartments in West Hollywood, where he met her beside the building’s pool. When he went back up to his apartment, he left his book at the pool, which Zoe took up to his apartment to return to him. Once there, Zoe alleges that he grabbed her and kissed her. According to THR, she “tentatively” kissed back before saying, “Thank you, I’m going back to my friend.” But then he pulled her toward his bedroom, where Zoe says he raped her.
A friend backs up this account, telling the magazine that Zoe was “strikingly different” after her encounter with Noth. Although Zoe says she went straight to Cedars-Sinai hospital after the incident, the hospital could not confirm her visit, saying it does not maintain records dating back to 2004. However, the UCLA Rape Crisis Center, which Zoe says she visited in January 2006, did confirm she had been a patient.
Separately, another victim—whom THR calls “Lily”—allegedly met Noth in 2015 at a nightclub where she worked as a server. “He was hitting on me, for sure,” Lily says. “I was flattered. I knew he was married, which is shameful of me to admit.” After they shared drinks at the restaurant Il Cantinori, Noth invited her back to his Greenwich Village apartment. “I thought, ‘We’re going to drink whiskey and talk about his acting career,’” Lily, who has since become a journalist, told THR. “It sounds so stupid.”
Once they’d gone back to the actor’s home, Lily says Noth repeatedly tried to kiss her, then pulled his pants down and “thrust his penis into her mouth.” She went on to describe the rest of the encounter: “He said marriage is a sham. Monogamy is not real.” Soon after, she told the magazine, “He was having sex with me from the back in a chair. We were in front of a mirror. I was kind of crying as it happened… I went to the bathroom and put on my skirt. I was feeling awful. Totally violated. All of my dreams with this star I loved for years were gone.”
Later, in exchanged text messages reviewed by THR, Noth mentioned the evening in question.
According to THR, Noth wrote in one message, “By the way I have to ask did you enjoy our night last week. I thought it was a lot of fun but I wasn’t quite sure how you felt.”
Lily responded, “Hmm… I certainly enjoyed your company. Great conversation. Not to go into specifics over text message, but I did feel slightly used… Perhaps this is better as a phone conversation but I can’t talk at the moment.” The two reportedly made plans to talk it through but never ended up meeting again.
On December 17, a story published by The Daily Beast revealed a third woman, given the name “Ava,” accused Noth of assaulting her in 2010. The now 30-year-old tech executive says she was working at the Midtown Manhattan restaurant Da Marino as an 18-year-old hostess with acting aspirations.
“They were looking for a pretty hostess that could draw people to the restaurant and double as entertainment on nights where they had a pianist play Broadway show-tunes,” Ava explained. She says her job was to draw patrons in so she’d have an audience to perform for, and Noth was frequently a patron; she claims he usually came in while intoxicated.
“I cannot remember in detail how many times we spoke, but with great familiarity, one night he told my boss I would sing with him even though I hadn’t filled the restaurant yet,” she said.
She says Noth would pull her into his lap against his erection, telling her he “loved Canadian women.” (Ava is originally from Toronto.) She says she initially found it a bit exciting, as Noth was a big star. The night she was allegedly assaulted, Ava says her manager told her that she’d be paid in the office when her shift ended at 1 a.m. As she gathered her things, the lights went off—she says Noth had followed her.
“He acted as if we had intentionally snuck off together clandestinely,” she said. “At first, it felt as though I was the only person in the universe who could hear me saying no.”
Ava was wearing a tampon, and says Noth digitally penetrated her and discovered it. She says she was “so hopeful that would be the end of it,” but claims Noth persisted. Ava says she pushed him away and told Noth she’d meet him somewhere else later.
“He wasn’t hearing ‘no,’ but he heard me when I said ‘not here’ and convinced him that I would meet him somewhere else,” she told The Daily Beast. She says she went home and didn’t respond to his texts asking for an address. At the time, Ava says she told her parents and family what happened, and they corroborated her story to the Daily Beast. She also says she told the owner of Da Marino, who told her that Noth would never be interested in someone as “insignificant” as her.
Noth’s publicist responded to the new allegations in The Daily Beast, saying, “Noth denies this as ever happening and has no idea who this woman is… The story is a complete fabrication, and the alleged accounts detailed throughout read like a piece of bad fiction. As Chris stated yesterday, he has and would never cross that line.”
Following the multiple allegations against the actor, CBS’s The Equalizer has dropped Noth from its cast; his talent agency, A3 Artists Agency, also dropped him from its roster.
This story will be updated when more information is available.
If you or someone you know is affected by sexual assault, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673) or visit rainn.org for support online.
Источник: www.elle.com
