And Just Like That, SJP Addressed Her Rift With Kim Cattrall

When And Just Like Like That premiered at the end of 2021, the Sex and the City reboot gave fans the chance to check in with all their favorite characters from the original series. Well, almost all of them: Samantha Jones, played by Kim Cattrall, was very noticeably missing from the first season of the HBO Max series, reportedly due to a public rift between her and Sarah Jessica Parker. SJP is now telling her side of the story and clearing the air of any drama.

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast, Parker addressed the fact that Cattrall was not asked to join the cast of And Just Like That. She explained, “We did not ask her to be part of this 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.”

Cattrall previously spoke candidly about wanting to move on to other projects beyond the Sex and the City universe. She expressed her disinterest in rebooting the series before And Just Like That was officially announced.

Parker continued, “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 someplace 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.'"

In addition to distancing herself from Sex and the City, Cattrall also publicly said that she has “never been friends” with her co-stars and that Parker “could’ve been nicer” to her. She also posted an Instagram slamming Parker and how “cruel” she was. Parker told THR she found Cattrall’s words “very painful.”

“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,” Parker said. “And there just isn’t anyone else who’s ever talked about me this way.”

Parker also finds it painful that the rift has been framed as a “catfight.”

“It’s so painful for people to keep talking about this ‘catfight’ — a ‘fight,’ a ‘fight,’ a ‘fight,’” Parker 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.”

And Just Like That is set to return for a second season. Season 1 is streaming on HBO Max now.