Sarah Jessica Parker is finally telling her side!
The Sex and the City star sat down for an interview with Scott Feinberg on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast this week, and for the first time ever at length, she decided to get candid about what went down between her and former co-star Kim Cattrall!
As Perezcious readers know, the stars played best friends Samantha Jones and Carrie Bradshaw in the HBO hit series until they had a public falling out around the time the franchise’s third movie was canceled. Kim’s never shied away from blasting SJP in the media — it’s been downright vicious! But the New York native has rarely discussed the feud or its origin… Now, though? She’s not holding back!
Related: SJP HASN’T Talked To Chris Noth Since His Sexual Assault Allegations!
The 57-year-old began by explaining it’s “very hard” for her to talk about the rift, explaining:
“It’s very hard to talk about the situation with Kim because — I’ve been so careful about not ever wanting to say anything that is unpleasant, because it’s not the way I like to conduct conversations that are as complicated as this, you know?”
Despite the pain, to finally put the chatter to rest, she decided to lay it all out on the table. Kim has said it started back on the show — but in SJP’s mind, the issues didn’t begin until 2017, when a third SATC movie was in the works. Unfortunately, the end of the trilogy “fell apart” when Cattrall made contractual demands Warner Bros didn’t want to uphold. Reports at the time claimed the actress wanted the studio to greenlight a separate project of hers if she agreed to do the SATC flick. On this, SJP mused:
“They didn’t feel comfortable meeting where she wanted to meet, and so we didn’t do the movie because we didn’t want to do it without Kim.”
She added of her other co-stars Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon:
“Were we disappointed? Sure. But it happens.”
The relationship took another hit the next year when SJP sent the Mannequin alum condolences after her brother died in 2018, despite their feud. Kim’s response was savage, declaring without equivocation that the two were NOT friends. Kim also started to slam the Hocus Pocus alum publicly, accusing her of being cruel on set — claims SJP found particularly frustrating as a pro who had been in the industry for decades. The Emmy winner expressed:
“And then there were just a lot of public conversations about how she felt about the show. And, once again, it’s not for me to say that ‘you’re wrong,’ you know, ‘it was, for you, a great thing,’ I don’t know. [But] that hasn’t been our experience. And I’ve spent a lot of years working really hard to always be decent to everybody on the set, to take care of people, to be responsible to and for people, both my employers and the people that I feel I’m responsible for as a producer of the show. And there just isn’t anyone else who’s ever talked about me this way, so it’s very painful.”
Flash forward a few years and the message was clear to SJP: Kim didn’t want anything to do with her or the franchise, so that’s why she never even thought to invite Kim to join the revival, And Just Like That, she claims:
“We did not ask her to be part of this [And Just Like That…] because she made it clear that that wasn’t something she wanted to pursue, and it no longer felt comfortable for us, and so it didn’t occur to us. That’s not ‘slamming’ her, it’s just learning. You’ve got to listen to somebody, and if they’re publicly talking about something and it doesn’t suggest it’s some place they want to be, or a person they want to play, or an environment in which they want to be, you get to an age where you’re like, ‘Well, we hear that.’”
That makes sense — especially since they’ve only ever heard negative things coming from Kim in recent years. No wonder they didn’t want to entertain the idea of working together again.
Related: Kim Cattrall Speaks Out Against SATC Fans Who ‘Bully’ Her For Not Returning!
Still, she does recognize that Kim “was a huge contributor to the success” of the original series, but moving on without her seemed like the best way to continue telling a fan-favorite story that the other women still wanted to explore. Parker, who executive produced the HBO Max revival, continued:
“We felt comfortable moving on without her and without that part because we knew what Michael [Patrick King, the AJLT showrunner] wanted to do. And we thought he handled it beautifully.”
In the reboot, Carrie explains she and Samantha had a falling out after she fired Samantha as her publicist. And while the fictional characters may have had a big blow-out, the actress claims that’s not at all what happened in real life. Concluding her clarification of the feud, she urged the media and SATC fans to stop playing into the so-called “catfight” and slammed Kim for being the only one “talking” about the past. The mom of three said:
“I just want to say one thing, because you’ve allowed me this opportunity: it’s so painful for people to keep talking about this ‘catfight’ — a ‘fight,’ a ‘fight,’ a ‘fight.’ I’ve never uttered fighting words in my life about anybody that I’ve worked with — ever. There is not a ‘fight’ going on. There has been no public dispute or spat or conversations or allegations made by me or anybody on my behalf. I wouldn’t do it. That is not the way I would have it. So I just wish that they would stop calling this a ‘catfight’ or an ‘argument,’ because it doesn’t reflect [reality]. There has been one person talking.”
Ooooh, so she’s throwing all this back on Kim and blaming her for starting the controversy in the first place?! She can say what she wants, but it definitely seems like there’s at least a shade with SJP’s last jab!
What do YOU think about this explanation of their falling out, Perezcious readers? It’s certainly in line with what we know so far… but is it the truth or just another side of the story?
[Image via MEGA/Michael Carpenter/WENN]