Heather Kristin, a former stand-in for Sex and the City star Kristin Davis, has revisited her viral February 2021 essay for The Independent following the allegations against actor Chris Noth, first published in The Hollywood Reporter a week ago.
In the original essay, titled, “I was Charlotte’s stand-in on Sex and the City. Some of the behavior I saw still shocks me,” Kristin — who says she stood in for Davis’ Charlotte for four seasons on the original HBO series — wrote about an “alpha male actor” who made an offensive comment about a fellow stand-in.
In an update to that column published on Thursday, Kristin names that actor as Noth, writing, “I remember his toxic behavior all too vividly.”
Kristin writes, “The first time the ‘alpha male’ actor slid his hand down my back and over my butt, I flinched. I was in my mid-20s and had worked as an extra on movie sets for over a decade; I had never been manhandled. ‘That’s your spot, sweetie,’ Noth said, inching even closer.”
Kristin says she did her best to stay out of his path following the interaction: “My gut said to quit that first day. Instead, I stayed too long, like staying in a bad relationship for far too many years, hoping I’d persevere and land my big break.”
About a year later, Kristin alleges Noth pointed to the stand-in for Cynthia Nixon’s Miranda and said, “I want that one tied up, gagged and brought to my trailer,” She writes, “When he got near me, I balled up my fists, squared my shoulders and said, ‘This is my and her space.’ He backed up, dramatically putting his hands up in the air and said, ‘Whoa, there, little lady!’ He didn’t even know my name. I clenched my jaw and didn’t respond. The crew laughed. But I had had enough; I finally stood up for myself and for the other stand-in.”
On Dec. 16, two women alleged they were sexually assaulted by Noth. Zoe, now 40, and Lily, now 31 — who do not know each other and who used pseudonyms for the story — approached THR separately and months apart with their stories, each deciding to come forward after being triggered by Noth starring in the revival of the iconic series with HBO Max’s And Just Like That reboot, which killed off Noth’s Mr. Big character in its first episode.
Noth, who denies the allegations, was swiftly dropped by his agency and other show, CBS’ The Equalizer, following the story. Peloton also pulled a viral ad it had created with Noth and Ryan Reynolds following Mr. Big’s death.
Stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Nixon and Davis have since supported the women who came forward in a joint statement.
“When Mr. Big, the character played by Chris Noth, died in the first episode of the SATC reboot And Just Like That, I felt relief,” wrote Kristin in her updated essay on Thursday. “I’m sure the three women [a third woman came forward to the Daily Beast] who have come forward in the last week with allegations of sexual assault against Noth felt the same.”
Kristin also claims that, following the publication of her original essay, she was met with silence by the And Just Like That casting director when she reached out about returning as a stand-in for the reboot. “I found myself wondering whether I was being blacklisted for speaking out,” she says, questioning his demise onscreen. “Was Big killed off in the first episode because the producers knew of his troubles?”
Big’s death was reportedly a big plot point in the third SATC film, which never made it to the screen. In a 2018 Sex and the City chapter for James Andrew Miller’s Origins podcast, the host reported that Big was set to die “relatively early” in the film of a heart attack in the shower, per the screenplay. At the time, Miller said the narrative of Big’s death and its focus on Carrie Bradshaw (Parker) made Kim Cattrall — who was responsible for the third film never getting off the ground — uninterested in reprising her role of Samantha Jones.
And Just Like That showrunner Michael Patrick King recently told Vanity Fair that Big’s death was the “origin story” of the reboot. “Nobody wanted to come back if [the show] was not going to be different,” he said. “The more [Noth and Patrick King] talked about it, the more he understood that it was for Carrie — and Carrie’s storyline is, it’s better to have loved and lost than never have loved at all.”
THR has reached out to Noth, HBO and HBO Max, as well as Kristin for additional comment.
Source: Hollywood
