‘Bullying’, cliques and cash – inside bitter Sex and the City feud that killed the show
Sex and the City was based on the love between four friends, but behind the scenes, actresses Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Catrall were apparently anything but
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Sex and the City taught a whole generation of about friendship, blokes and a world of cocktails beyond Slippery Nipples.
Its appeal lay in the friendship between the four main stars Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha Jones (Kim Catrall), Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte York (Kristin Davis), as they navigated their way through love, fights and fashion in New York City.
But while they might have seemed to be the very best of friends on and off screen, in the years that have followed, it’s emerged that their dynamic was quite the opposite.
Indeed, tensions between the two leading actresses – SJP and Kim – are said to have simmered beneath the surface from the get-go, culminating in Kim’s cutting comments to Sarah when she offered her condolences on the death of Kim’s brother in 2018.
Confirming their toxic relationship, a furious Kim blasted the gesture as “a painful reminder of how cruel you really were then and now.”
So what went wrong between the foursome?
‘Bullying’ and cliques
According to author Clifford Streit, the problems started due to Kim’s reputation as a real ‘scene stealer’.
Streit claimed that as tensions grew between Kim and the show’s main star Sarah, Cynthia and Kristin formed an alliance with SJP. Another source alleged they, ‘deliberately excluding’ Kim from their clique.
Kim did have a friend in series creator and producer Darren Star, but when he left at the end of the second season, his replacement Michael Patrick King made it clear he was Team Sarah.
The New York Post’s Page Six began reporting the staggering depth of the feud, with sources claiming that even the make-up artists refused to speak to Kim.
According to one story, SJP, Cynthia and Kristin stayed together in a house during an Atlantic City shoot, while Kim was forced to find her own accommodation – although an HBO spokesman said this was due to her being married at the time, and her husband was expected to join them.
There were even rumours the trio refused to utter a word to Kim beyond their scripts, even during 15 hour-long days.
A source told Mail Online: ‘From the point when SJP had her executive producer credit, she took ownership of the show and this always grated on Kim.
“She felt SJP got more screen time than she did, which was only fair because Sarah Jessica was the lead, but it caused tension.”
However, SJP insisted she’d been nothing but fair.
“You’re on set, you’re working 90-hour weeks, you’re never home, you’re exhausted,” she said.
“Sometimes feelings get hurt. But I don’t have any regrets about how I’ve treated people.”
For Kim’s part, she told TV host Piers Morgan that she had ‘never been friends’ with her co-stars.
She added: “Sarah Jessica, she could have been nicer, she could have in some way. I don’t know what her issue is, I never have.”
And speaking to The Observer Magazine, she went a step further, claiming she felt she was under attack when she refused to to do a third film.
“I went past the finish line playing Samantha Jones because I loved Sex and the City,” she explained.
“It was a blessing in so many ways but after the second movie I’d had enough.
“I couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t just replace me with another actress instead of wasting time bullying. No means no.”
Cash battles
At the Emmy Awards following the completion of the show’s sixth and final season Sarah, Kristin and Cynthia were all pictured sitting together and then celebrating after the event.
But one person was absent – Kim.
Three months later the actress appeared on the Graham Norton show and and revealed issues around money meant a further series of the hit show was unlikely.
Kim said: “I felt after six years it was time for all of us to participate in the financial windfall of Sex and the City .
“When they didn’t seem keen on that I thought it was time to move on.”
However, less than four years later, in May 2008, the girls were reunited for the first Sex And The City film.
That time, Kim reportedly asked for more money, something her co-star, SJP insisted she was supportive of.
“Honestly, we are all friends and I wish I saw more of Kim. She mentioned money and no one should vilify her for it,” she said. “People made a decision that we had vilified her.”
Kim stressed that the strains hadn’t just been down to cash, revealing that she’d also just got divorced and was dealing with her father’s dementia.
For the next few years SJP and Kim used almost every interview opportunity to stress they were pals and there was no bad feeling between the pair.
SJP said: “I don’t think anybody wants to believe that I love Kim. I adore her. I wouldn’t have done the movie without her. Didn’t and wouldn’t.
Kim added: “I think Sarah was right: people don’t want to believe that we get on.
“They have too much invested in the idea of two strong, successful women fighting with each other.”
But things turned bitter again when plans for a third movie were canned after Kim alledgedly pulled out just days before filming due to start amid an apparent row over money.
Mud-slinging
The feud was reignited when Kim’s brother, Chris, died suddenly in 2018 and SJP reached out to offer her condolenses.
Kim was furious and hit out on social media, raging: “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.”
SJP was said to have been ‘heartbroken’ by the comments and supporters came out on both sides.
An anonymous actor spoke out to say that after having worked on the hit HBO show, they were firmly behind Kim.
“I worked on SATC as a PA when I lived in NY 2x and all I’m gonna say is that Kim Cattrall was the nice one,” shared the Twitter user.
In Sarah’s corner, Real Housewives producer Andy Cohen branded the feud a ‘cat fight for one’.
“Sarah only said the nicest things about her,” he said.
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