Chris Noth has been fired from his role on ‘The Equalizer’ for being an alleged rapist.
via People:
“Chris Noth will no longer film additional episodes of The Equalizer, effective immediately,” Universal Television and CBS said in a joint statement on Monday.
Noth will be seen in one upcoming episode that has already been filmed, as well as future repeats of episodes that have already aired.
A rep for Noth did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Noth has denied the allegations, claiming that the past encounters “were consensual.”
“The accusations against me made by individuals I met years, even decades, ago are categorically false,” he said in a statement. “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. 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.”
On the CBS hit, Noth, 67, portrays ex–CIA director William Bishop opposite Queen Latifah’s Robyn McCall. Lorraine Toussaint, Adam Goldberg, Tory Kittles, Liza Lapira and Laya DeLeon Hayes are also in the cast.
Based on the 1980s series of the same name, the reboot follows single mom Robyn McCall (Latifah) as she uses her C.I.A. background to help those who are unable to defend themselves.
The Equalizer — which is the second reboot in the franchise after the Denzel Washington-led film series — is currently airing episodes from its second season. CBS has yet to renew the show for season 3.
News of Noth’s CBS role comes after two women accused him of sexually assaulting them, both sharing similar accounts to The Hollywood Reporter. According to one woman, who spoke under the pseudonym Zoe, the actor allegedly raped her in a Los Angeles apartment in 2004. She claimed they met at a high-profile firm in L.A. with ties to celebrities like Noth.
“I realized there was blood on my shirt. I got out of there. I went to my friend’s apartment [in the same building],” Zoe, who was 22 at the time, recalled. “I walked right in and went to the bathroom and tried to get the blood out of my shirt. They wanted to know what happened. I said, ‘I just want to go home.'”
Another woman, using the pseudonym Lily, claimed Noth invited her to his New York City apartment in 2015 after they had dinner and drinks. Lily, who was 25 at the time, said she met The Good Wife alum while working as a server at a local nightclub.
“He said marriage is a sham. Monogamy is not real,” she said, adding that Noth — who is married to Tara Wilson — began to sexually assault her. “He was having sex with me from the back in a chair. We were in front of a mirror. I was kind of crying as it happened. I went to the bathroom [after] and put on my skirt. I was feeling awful. Totally violated. All of my dreams with this star I loved for years were gone.”
Last Friday, a third woman came forward with sexual assault allegations against Noth. In a report published by the Daily Beast, a woman who wished to remain anonymous but used the pseudonym, Ava, told the outlet that when she was 18, Noth had sexually assaulted her while she was working at a New York City restaurant in 2010.
The actor denied the woman’s account in a statement. “The story is a complete fabrication, and the alleged accounts detailed throughout read like a piece of bad fiction,” a rep for Noth said. “As Chris stated yesterday, he has and would never cross that line.”
The accusations against Noth surfaced after he wrapped his brief reprisal as John James “Mr. Big” Preston on HBO Max’s Sex and the City revival, And Just Like That. Following his stint on the show, in which Mr. Big died after a ride on a Peleton bike, Noth starred in an advertisement for Peloton.
In light of the allegations, Peloton pulled the advertisement less than a week after its debut.
“Every single sexual assault accusation must be taken seriously,” a spokesperson for Pelton said in a statement, per CNBC. “We were unaware of these allegations when we featured Chris Noth in our response to HBO’s reboot. As we seek to learn more, we have stopped promoting this video and archived related social posts.”
As news of the allegations surfaced, Noth and his talent agency parted ways. Last Friday, PEOPLE confirmed that A3 Artists Agency dropped him.
Serves him right.
