Chris Noth denies sexual assault allegations in 1st interview: 'I strayed on my wife' which 'isn't a crime'
"You give yourself the same excuses that many men do; it's just a little side dance, and it's fun," Noth said.
More than a year after sexual assault allegations derailed his career, Chris Noth is speaking out. In a new interview with USA Today, the former Sex and the City star admitted to cheating on his wife of 10 years, but maintained all encounters were consensual.
"I strayed on my wife, and it's devastating to her and not a very pretty picture," he stated. "What it isn't is a crime."
Noth, 68, wed Tara Wilson in 2012 after more than 10 years of dating. That means they were together when the alleged incidents occurred, all of which he denies. They share two kids — ages 3 and 15 — and stayed together after the scandal. Noth said he's spoken to his older son about the situation.
In the interview, the actor said he justified his behavior in his head like "many men do."
"You give yourself the same excuses that many men do; it's just a little side dance, and it's fun," he added. "You're not hurting anybody. No one's going to know about this, you know, and sex is just enjoyable. And suddenly, a lot of people want to have sex with you. It's like, 'Well, I'm not going to get this chance again.'"
In Dec. 2021, weeks after his character was killed off on the SATC spin-off ...And Just Like That, two women came forward and alleged sexual misconduct. According to one of Noth's accusers, who claimed she was raped in 2015 after meeting the actor working as a server at a nightclub, he told her "marriage is a sham" and "monogamy is not real." A second woman alleged to the The Hollywood Reporter she was raped in 2004. Through a rep, the actor called the allegations "categorically false."
Shortly after the THR report was published, a third accuser came forward to The Daily Beast and claimed Noth assaulted her while she was working at a New York City restaurant in 2010. She was allegedly 18 at the time and Noth was 55. A rep for the actor called the story "a complete fabrication." A fourth woman later came forward and accused him of misconduct. No criminal charges have ever been filed.
Noth acknowledged to USA Today that civil lawsuits remain a possibility. "That's a money train for a lot of people," he said.
"There's nothing I can say to change anyone's mind when you have that kind of a tidal wave," Noth added. "It sounds defensive. I'm not. There's no criminal court. There's no criminal trial. There's nothing for me to get on the stand about and get my story out, get witnesses. And there's even more absurd add-ons that are completely ridiculous, that have absolutely no basis in fact. And I don't like talking about it because as soon as I do, you'll get the Daily Mail or someone grabbing a part of it and doing it, and I don't want my kids seeing that."
Noth's career has been nonexistent since the allegations surfaced. He was fired from the CBS crime drama The Equalizer. His longtime co-stars, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon, issued a joint statement saying they "support the women who have come forward and shared their painful experiences. We know it must be a very difficult thing to do and we commend them for it."
In June, Noth denied a Page Six story that claimed he felt "iced out" by his former costars. "I usually don’t respond to this kind of thing. And I do know that people like drama and gossip," Noth captioned a screenshot of the article, writing that the story "is absolute nonsense."
The job opportunities have not been lining up post-scandal, though. Noth gave the interview as he's promoting Samuelsohn, a suit company launching a campaign to raise awareness about men's mental health. He's now directing and performing at a theater in Massachusetts.
"I'm not going to lay down and just say it's over," he added. "It's a salacious story, but it's just not a true one. And I can't just say 'Well, OK, that's it for me' because of that. I'm an actor. I have other things that I want to do creatively. And I have children to support. I can't just rest on my laurels. So yeah, I have enough to let a year drift, but I don't know how to gauge or judge getting back into the club, the business, because corporations are frightened."
Noth concluded, "People are afraid of all this. Fear is the overriding operative word when it comes to whether they believe it or not. ... I have to just continue on. It's rough, because people are scared, and their fear leads them. And I have to just persevere because I still have a creative life."
