News

Mar 25, 2024

Kim Cattrall & Sarah Jessica Parker Feud: Everything We Know About The SATC Drama

Kim Cattrall's legendary feud with co-star Sarah Jessica Parker often overshadows the legacy of HBO's Sex and the City and its spinoff. Kim Cattrall and her time as Samantha on Sex and the City is in

Kim Cattrall's legendary feud with co-star Sarah Jessica Parker often overshadows the legacy of HBO's Sex and the City and its spinoff.

Kim Cattrall and her time as Samantha on Sex and the City is in part remembered for a long-simmering feud with co-star Sarah Jessica Parker that has overshadowed the legacy of the classic show. Debuting in 1998 on HBO, Sex and the City follows four very different women who live in New York City and bond over their adventures in love and life. Celebrated at the time for its progressive and sex-positive storylines, Sex and the City was one of the landmark television events of the late 1990s and early aughts. The popularity continued after the show's ending in 2004 and even received two feature films and a spinoff series.

Hanging over the entire legacy of the show, Kim Cattrall and her co-star Sarah Jessica Parker have been the subject of much speculation in the media regarding a supposed feud between them. Spanning decades, the purported beef between the stars has grown and changed over the years, and it even continued into the production of And Just Like That..., the SATC spinoff. Even though Sex and the City ended after season 6, the rumors and allegations regarding the long-standing battle between Cattrall and Parker are ever-present.

RELATED: Carrie Bradshaw's Complete Sex And The City Timeline Explained

Despite being a cultural phenomenon in 2004, Sex and the City wrapped things up surprisingly early after only six seasons. While the show managed to leave an indelible mark on popular culture, it clearly could have gone on a while longer, and fans were still clamoring for more. In that very same year, Cattrall mentioned pay as a reason she chose not to return to her popular role as Samantha (via Digital Spy), which was one of many factors that ended the show. Cattrall cited a pay disparity when she said, "it was time for all of us to participate in the financial windfall of Sex and the City".

Though pay was a large factor, Cattrall was not totally averse to playing the role again after 2004, and she mentioned that "If the deal was right and the script was fabulous, absolutely I would" with regard to returning. According to Cattrall, pay wasn't the only deciding factor for her departure, and in an interview with Marie Claire, she brought up her public divorce and her father's dementia diagnosis as reasons for her to step away from the limelight for a while. In 2008, she joined the rest of the main Sex and the City cast when she reprised her role as Samantha in the first feature film.

Though the pay dispute seemingly drove a wedge between Cattrall and Parker, the pair were able to work together throughout the productions of 2008's Sex and the City, and 2010's Sex and the City 2 movies. The beef rumors had been simmering since the days of the TV show, but both actors did their part to quell any talk about a fight between them. Between the two movies in 2009, Sarah Jessica Parker spoke with Elle and attempted to squash the rumors once and for all by saying "I don’t think anybody wants to believe that I love Kim. I adore her. I wouldn’t have done the movie without her".

Echoing Parker's sentiment, Cattrall framed the entire feud rumor as blatant sexism within the media, claiming "They have too much invested in the idea of two strong, successful women fighting with each other" (via The Daily Mail). The beef was seemingly on hold when the hit TV show got two movie adaptations, and they both proved to be major successes. Sex and the City grossed over $400 million (via Box Office Mojo), and the sequel also performed quite well financially. With money rolling in, a third film seemed like it was on the way, but it would prove to be another spark for the supposed feud.

Even though a potential Sex and the City 3 seemed like a no-brainer, the project was officially declared dead in 2017 with sources like The Daily Mail calling out Kim Cattrall as the main reason the movie never saw the light of day. The salacious headline claimed that Cattrall's "outrageous demands" brought the project down just weeks before shooting was scheduled to begin. The actor then took to her Twitter account to refute the claim, mentioning that she never really wanted to do the project in the first place.

Kim Cattrall later defended her decision not to do Sex and the City 3, and she essentially chalked it up to creative differences between herself and the rest of the production regarding her character. In the end, Cattrall did not feel that the script justified itself, saying "I would have preferred for all of us to have some kind of event to warrant a third film. That didn't happen" (via Hello!. Despite headlines blaming Cattrall, Sarah Jessica Parker dispelled feud rumors around Sex and the City 3, and said that the film is essentially impossible without Cattrall's participation (via Vanity Fair).

RELATED: 10 Biggest Sex And The City Easter Eggs In And Just Like That Season 1

As the years passed, and it became increasingly clear that Sex and the City 3 was not going to happen, fans were delighted to find the arrival of a spinoff series in the form of 2021's And Just Like That... season 1. Though the SATC Peloton incident made headlines, the most talked-about aspect of the show's first season was the obvious absence of Kim Cattrall's Samantha, which was explained away by a falling out with Carrie and a move from New York City to London.

Kim Cattrall reacted to Samantha's AJLT storyline, and corroborated that she was never actually asked to appear in the show. Expressing her surprise about her character even being part of the story, Cattrall said "I was never asked to be part of the reboot. I made my feelings clear after the possible third movie...I found out about it like everyone else did - on social media." She even went on to mention that she hadn't watched the first season of And Just Like That..., a sign that she had little interest in the project or playing Samantha again.

After her surprising absence during And Just Like That... season 1, it was announced that Kim Cattrall would be reprising her Samantha role in the second season of the show in 2023. From the outset, it was clear that Cattrall's reappearance would only be a cameo, and that she wasn't rejoining the cast of the spinoff on a full-time basis. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cattrall's season 2 finale cameo was filmed with a minimal crew, and she had no interaction with any of her former co-stars. Cattrall stipulated she wanted to make her return “Samantha style”, and insisted that former SATC costume designer Pat Field return.

Despite her previous comments regarding not wanting Cattrall back in the cast of And Just Like That..., Sarah Jessica Parker took a much rosier view of her former co-star's cameo appearance. Keeping things chipper, Parker said "it’s just such an opportune moment in the story and it was really a nod to the 25 years", though she didn't speak on the nature of Cattrall's actual cameo. The feud between Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker obviously wasn't enough to stop the Sex and the City revival from getting its own Samantha moment, even if it fell short of what fans were hoping for.

Dalton is a freelance writer, novelist, and filmmaker from Orlando Florida. He currently lives in Los Angeles and pursues writing full-time. He is an avid reader and film buff who also publishes novels on the side. Dalton graduated from the University of Central Florida with a BFA in Film and he often applies his industry-specific knowledge when writing about film and television. Along with his blog, Dalton's critical essays on film have been published in various places online.