Why did Sex And The City accusers take so long to cry rape?
As the lead male love interest in sex And the City, the actor Chris Noth has been in the public eye ever since the series that captivated millions of single women first appeared in 1998.
the show has remained one of the most re-watched tV dramas. there have been two movies — one of them took $419million at the box office, and in it Noth, as Carrie’s on-off lover Mr Big, abandoned her at the altar.
Yet only now, following the current reboot of the series in which Mr Big dies of a heart attack, have two women come forward accusing the actor of raping them.
One says it happened 17 years ago and the second, seven. Both claim that seeing the new series brought back painful memories of their ordeal and they had to speak out.
But since sex And the City has been with us for decades, my question is: why has it taken these women so long to make their accusations?
After all, these are appalling and serious allegations. Both women, using pseudonyms, have given graphic and disturbing accounts of what they claim happened.
‘Zoe’ says Noth raped her in 2004, when she was 22, refusing to stop when she pleaded with him. she adds that she required stitches after the assault. ‘Lily’ says she was 25 when he violently raped her in 2015.
For his part, Roth says both accusations are ‘categorically false’, insisting both encounters were ‘consensual’. he also says: ‘It’s difficult not to question the timing of these stories coming out.’
Importantly, the sooner a woman contacts police after being raped, the more likely the perpetrator will be caught and convicted — and, given the pitifully low rape conviction figures, it is vital to do so as quickly as possible.
I have no idea what the truth is. Zoe says she’s speaking now because her mother’s recently died and she didn’t want her to be haunted at the end of her life.
And both women could, indeed, have taken years to process the abuse they allegedly suffered before finally finding the strength to make their accusations. In which case, one can only admire their courage in going public at last.
But there is also the fact that, having delayed for so long, they risk coming across as #Metoo opportunists more interested in making money out of a celebrity than seeing justice done.