1 year ago
96 "It is such a dicey, delicate situation that requires a great deal of respect."
Note: This post mentions rape, sexual assault, and misconduct allegations.
Queen Latifah is opening up about her former costar Chris Noth, who was fired from The Equalizer after a slew of sexual assault claims against him broke last month.
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Speaking to People in a recent interview, Latifah shared that "It's still surreal. It is such a dicey, delicate situation that requires a great deal of respect. That's a personal thing that he's going to have to deal with."
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In late December, CBS and Universal Television released a joint statement to the media explaining that, "Chris Noth will no longer film additional episodes of The Equalizer, effective immediately." Following multiple allegations, a viral Peloton ad featuring the actor was also removed, and, in early January, Variety confirmed that Noth would not return for And Just Like That...'s Feb. 3 finale.
Latifah offered insight into how the show might tackle writing off his character. "We are figuring out what we want to do creatively on the show and how we're going to deal with that character," she said.
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The rebooted show — which was first revived by Denzel Washington's film series — features Latifah as the titular Equalizer, a former CIA operative named Robyn McCall. Previously, Noth played an ex-CIA director named William Bishop, who now runs his own private company and helps Robyn liaison with the agency.
"Chris's character's obviously a big part of the show, and it was amazing chemistry, amazing chemistry," Latifah added. "And my feeling is justice has to prevail regardless. I just want the right things to be done, you know?"
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The show is currently airing its second season, with a finale due in late February.
The assault allegations against Noth first surfaced in mid-December, where two women separately came forward and told the Hollywood Reporter of being sexually assaulted and raped by the actor in 2004 and 2015. The women, who used pseudonyms to protect their privacy, said the Sex and the City revival brought up painful buried memories.
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In a statement to the outlet, Noth denied the accusations: "The accusations against me made by individuals I met years, even decades, ago are categorically false. These stories could’ve been from 30 years ago or 30 days ago — no always means no — that is a line I did not cross. The encounters were consensual. It’s difficult not to question the timing of these stories coming out. I don’t know for certain why they are surfacing now, but I do know this: I did not assault these women."
Shortly thereafter, a third woman came forward, opening up to the Daily Beast about her experience. In late December, two more women alleged Noth sexually assaulted them.
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Singer-songwriter Lisa Gentile said that she was "sexually abused" by Noth in 2002. In a separate press conference, Heather Kristin, an actor who worked as Kristin Davis' stand-in on SATC, also detailed how she was groped by Noth.
