Sarah Jessica Parker Says SATC Rift with Kim Cattrall is 'Very Painful,' But Not a 'Catfight'

For the first time in years, Sarah Jessica Parker spoke in detail about her fraught relationship with Kim Cattrall on The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast.

Parker and Cattrall starred alongside each other for all six seasons of Sex and the City, including two feature films. Cattrall recently said she was not asked to be a part of SATC revival And Just Like That, a fact Parker confirmed to THR.

"We did not ask her to be part of [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," said Parker. "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.'"

According to Parker, the rift with Cattrall goes back to 2017, when a third Sex and the City movie was in the works but "fell apart" due to Cattrall's contractual demands for the studio. "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," Parker recalled. "Were we disappointed? Sure. But it happens."

After plans for a third Sex and the City movie fell through, Cattrall began speaking out publicly against Parker, accusing her of behaving cruelly during the original series run and saying that they were never really friends, just co-workers.

"There were just a lot of public conversations about how she felt about the show," Parker said, adding that those conversations were "very painful." Parker continued, "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."

Parker then asked the media to stop mischaracterizing the rift between her and Cattrall. "It's so painful for people to keep talking about this 'catfight' — a 'fight,' a 'fight,' a 'fight,'" she said. "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."

Sex and the City and And Just Like That are both streaming on HBO Max.

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Deena ElGenaidi's writing has been featured in Nylon, MTV News, Insider, The AV Club, and more. You can follow her on Twitter @deenaelg.