SEX AND THE CITY FEUD: SJP FIRES BACK
SARAH JESSICA WAS SHOCKED AT HOW VITRIOLIC KIM’S POST WAS
JUST WHEN YOU thought Sex And The City 2 would forever be the messiest footnote in humanity’s history, along came Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker’s feud (now entering its 1,040th week).
To recap: following the death of Kim’s brother last month, Sarah Jessica offered her condolences to her former co-star, provoking Kim to comment on Instagram that, ‘ Your continuous reaching out is a painful reminder of how cruel you really were then and now. Let me make this very clear ( if I haven’t already). You are not my family. You are not my friend. So I’m writing to tell you one last time to stop exploiting our tragedy in order to restore your “nice girl” persona.’
Following Kim’s outburst, it appeared as if Sarah Jessica would maintain a dignified silence. However, word has reached Grazia that a new book will finally see her firing back at Kim’s criticisms.
Sex And The City And Us by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong is a retrospective of the show, due to be published in June, to coincide with its 20th anniversary. In an in-depth interview with the author, Sarah Jessica responds to claims that she and Kim annoyed each other. ‘Abso-freakin-lutely,’ she said. ‘ That is a testament to the depth of that relationship because you don’t get annoyed by somebody when you’re being polite.’ Is it true that she lashed out at Kim? ‘In my entire life, I would never, ever throw a temper tantrum,’ she said. ‘I’ve never had the courage. I would be ashamed.’
While Kim has hinted at dark dynamics at play within the cast, the author (who conducted interviews with cast members and writers) insists that: ‘Cattrall and Parker didn’t grab drinks together after their nine-to-18-hour workdays... they were not sisters, nor best friends [ but they] relied upon each other for years and lived through a unique trajectory. That didn’t require that they always greet each other in the morning with hugs and spend their downtime together.’ As for the rumours of rifts within the cast, Sarah Jessica speculates that the reason similar reports didn’t plague The Sopranos is because it wasn’t an all-female cast. ‘Nobody ever said to Jimmy Gandolfini, “Why aren’t you hanging out with Nancy Marchand on the weekends?’’,’ she said.
While SJP appears at pains to remain diplomatic, others have been less discreet. Asked about reports of a feud in a recent interview, Jason Lewis (who played Kim Cattrall’s boyfriend Smith Jerrod) said, ‘Listen, Sarah was always just so lovely and such a consummate professional, and I think that people should remember their graciousness and the things that have been given to them, and I’m going to stop there because I’ve got nothing good to say.’ Pressed on whether he was ‘team Sarah’, he responded, ‘I have to say yeah.’
According to a source, ‘Sarah Jessica was shocked at how vitriolic Kim’s post was, but she has no desire to “have the last word”. As far as she’s concerned, both she and Kim are entitled to have their own version of events. Obviously there is no chance that the pair will star together in another SATC outing, but Sarah Jessica hasn’t abandoned hope that the remaining cast will find an opportunity to revisit their muchloved characters.’