Sarah Jessica Parker spoke at length, for the first time, about the breakdown of his relationship with Kim Cattrall – who, like Parker, was one of the four main stars of the famous HBO comedy series sex and the city and its two big-screen adaptations, playing Samantha alongside Parker’s Carrie – and why Cattrall wasn’t asked to be a part of And just like thatthe SATC revival series that recently had its first season on HBO Max.
Talk to Scott Feinberg on THRit is Awards Speech podcast, Parker acknowledged that “it’s very difficult to talk about the situation with Kim,” but that she wanted to “kind of explain how it happened” to clarify why it’s actually not the ” two-way catfight” that the media has portrayed as such. As she said, “There was one person who spoke.”
According to Parker, the problems with Cattrall could date back to 2017, when a third sex and the city The film was considered but “collapsed” over contractual demands Cattrall made to Warner Bros., the studio that was to finance and distribute the film. (Reports at the time suggested that Cattrall was making her participation conditional on the studio’s green light for an unrelated project.) I don’t want to do it without Kim,” Parker recounted. “Were we [she and costars Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon] disappointed? Sure. But it happens.
Then, however, Cattrall began publicly slamming Parker, accusing Parker of behaving cruelly towards her during the first series of sex and the cityclaiming that the two had never really been friends [and saying the same of her relationship with Davis and Nixon] and even pushing back Parker’s condolences following the death of Cattrall’s brother in 2018.
“There was just a lot of public conversation about how she felt about the show,” Parker said. Awards Speech — conversations that Parker found “very painful” because they did not reflect “our experience” [meaning hers, Davis’s or Nixon’s] and because, she added, “I spent many years working very hard to always be decent with everyone on set, to take care of people, to be responsible to and for people, both my employers and the people I feel I’m responsible for as the show’s producer. And no one else has ever spoken of me that way.
While Parker readily acknowledged that Cattrall “was a huge contributor to the success” of the sex and the city series and movies, she also explained, “We didn’t ask her to be part of this [And Just Like That…] because she made it clear that it wasn’t something she wanted to pursue, and it didn’t feel comfortable to us anymore, and so it didn’t cross our minds. It’s not the ‘slam’, it’s just learning. You have to listen to someone, and if they speak publicly about something and it doesn’t suggest that it’s a place they want to be, or a person they want to play with, or an environment they want to be in , you’re getting to an age where you’re like, “Well, we hear that.”
Parker further noted, “We felt comfortable going on without her and without that part because we knew what Michael [Patrick King, the AJLT showrunner] wanted to do. And we thought he did very well. [On AJLT, Samantha’s absence is attributed to a falling out that she had with Carrie after Carrie informed her that her services as a publicist were no longer needed.]
Parker concluded his remarks on Cattrall with a plea to the media to stop misrepresenting what happened: “I just want to say one thing, because you gave me this opportunity: it’s so painful for people to keep talking about this ‘catfight’ — a ‘fight’, a ‘fight’, a ‘fight’. worked – already. There is no “fight” going on. There were no public arguments, arguments, conversations or allegations by me or anyone on my behalf. I will not do it. That’s not how I would have it. So I just wish they would stop calling it a “catfight” or an “argument”, because that doesn’t reflect [reality]. There was a person who spoke.
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Below you can listen [starting at 58:20] or read Parker’s full, unedited remarks on Cattrall…
It’s pretty simple, you know? I will be as clear as possible. It’s very difficult to talk about the situation with Kim because… I was very careful never to want to say anything unpleasant, because that’s not how I like to conduct conversations as complicated as that, you know? So I’m kind of going to review – I think the best way to do that, honestly, is to review how it went.
The studio, when we were going to do the third movie, there were things she was asking that they weren’t able to do. 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, and the studio wasn’t going to do it, then he collapsed. It’s not that she said “no” to the film; it’s that the studio said “no” to the movie, which, you know, happens. And every actor has the right to ask for things, to have, you know, a contract that makes them feel good. I would never have disputed that because, frankly, it’s none of my business. Were we disappointed? Sure. But it happens.
And then there were a lot of public conversations about how she felt about the show. And, 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] this has not been our experience. And I spent many years working very hard to always be decent with everyone on set, to take care of people, to be responsible to and for people, both my employers and the people I relate to. sense of responsibility as the show’s producer. And nobody else has ever talked about me that way, so it’s very painful.
She contributed enormously to the success, I think, you know? Her portrayal of this role was wonderful and filled it all out, right? There were four points in the picture, and they were all important. But we didn’t ask her to be a part of that because she made it clear that it wasn’t something she wanted to pursue, and it didn’t feel comfortable to us anymore, and so it didn’t come to us. the mind. It’s not the ‘slam’, it’s just learning. You have to listen to someone, and if they speak publicly about something and it doesn’t suggest that it’s a place they want to be, or a person they want to play with, or an environment they want to be in , you’re getting to an age where you’re like, “Well, we hear that.”
We depended a lot on Michael [Patrick King] approach it [on the show] and figuring out how to talk about Samantha’s absence, because we have such affection for Samantha, and we wouldn’t have affection for Samantha – I mean, it’s all about Kim, so you can naturally infer that it’s there because of Kim’s work. But we felt comfortable going on without her and without that part because we knew what Michael wanted to do. And we thought he handled it beautifully — that she was there and she was there — and that was kind of nice for all of us and, I think, the audience.
So I hope I’ve discussed it in a way that makes sense.
And I just want to say one thing, because you gave 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 aggressive words in my life about anyone I’ve worked with. There is no “fight” going on. There were no public arguments, arguments, conversations or allegations by me or anyone on my behalf. I will not do it. That’s not how I would have it. So, I just wish they would stop calling it a “catfight” or an “argument,” because that doesn’t really reflect… There was one person who spoke. And I’m not going to tell him not to, or anyone, so it was a little painful for me as well.