In a press conference with her attorney Gloria Allred , singer-songwriter Lisa Gentile alleged she was “sexually victimized” and “sexually abused” by Noth in 2002. She claimed Noth forcibly pulled her, kissed her and touched her breasts.
“I was trying to get him to stop,” Gentile said.
The day after the alleged incident, Gentile claims Noth called her and said if she “ever told a soul about what happened the night before, that he would ruin my career, I would never sing again and he would blacklist me in the business.”
Noth’s representatives didn’t immediately respond to Variety ‘s request for comment. Noth has previously denied all other allegations, calling them “categorically false.”
Gentile says she first met Noth in 1998 at the restaurant Da Marino in the theater district of New York City where Noth was a regular and she was friends with the owner. Eventually, she and Noth became acquaintances and would chat about music and show business. One night in early 2002, Noth offered her a ride home from the restaurant, and she accepted, since the two were friendly. She says Noth asked if he could come up, and said he just wanted to see where she lived.
“He started kissing me almost right away. Then he leaned against the kitchen countertop and forcibly pulled me against him; he was slobbering all over me,” Gentile alleged during Thursday’s press conference. “I quickly became uncomfortable.”
She said Noth then became “more aggressive” and began squeezing her breasts. “I kept pushing his hands down while he was pushing mine up. I was trying to get him to stop. He then forced my hands to pull up his shirt exposing his belly and then even harder pushed my hands down towards his penis. I finally managed to push him away and get out of his grasp and yelled, ‘No, I don’t want this.’“
“He became extremely angry and started screaming calling me a ‘tease’ and a ‘bitch,’” Gentile alleged, before he “stormed out” of her apartment.
The next morning, Gentile claims Noth called to warn her that he would blacklist her from the business if she ever spoke of what happened, and then hung up on her. Allred declined to specify details regarding if and when Gentile and Noth saw each other again, but said it had been “a long time ago.”
“I was afraid to come forward because of Mr. Noth’s power and his threats to ruin my career,” Gentile said. (At the time of the alleged incident, Noth had already been a prominent star on “Law & Order,” and was currently a famous sex symbol on “Sex and the City,” which had become a massive global phenomenon.)
Chris Noth, starring opposite Sarah Jessica Parker, as the hit character Mr. Big on HBO’s “Sex in the City,” which aired from 1998-2004. Courtesy of HBO
Gentile told reporters she was coming forward in hopes of changing legislature relating to sexual abuse. Because her alleged incident with Noth would have occurred nearly 20 years ago, the statute of limitations has passed. Allred said her client “believes it is time for the law to change and that is why she is speaking out today.”
“I believe we should have our day in court to hold Mr. Noth accountable for what he did,” Gentile said, speaking on behalf of the other women who have recently accused Noth of sexual assault.
Prior to Gentile’s press conference, two women anonymously told The Hollywood Reporter, in a report published last week, that Noth assaulted them on separate occasions, in 2004 and 2015. Shortly after, a third woman spoke to The Daily Beast, alleging sexual assault in 2010.
In the wake of the allegations, Noth was swiftly dropped by his talent agency , A3 Artists Agency, and was also fired from the CBS series “The Equalizer.” Days before The Hollywood Reporter exposé was published, Noth had garnered much attention as his iconic “Sex and the City” character, Mr. Big, was surprisingly killed off the HBO Max reboot, “And Just Like That.” Following the shocking TV death, Noth appeared in a Peloton ad, produced by Ryan Reynolds’ agency, which revived him — only shortly, before the at-home exercise company quickly yanked the ad .
Jerry Orbach and Chris Noth as detectives Lennie Briscoe and Mike Logan on “Law & Order.” Courtesy of NBC/Everett Collection
With Noth making headlines, news reports regarding his ex-girlfriend, supermodel Beverly Johnson — who dated the actor for five years in the early 1990s — have resurfaced, including a 1995 newspaper entry from the National Enquirer , which more than two decades ago printed the headline “Shocking Court Papers Claim Top Model Battered By ‘Law & Order’ Star.”
This week, Page Six uncovered court documents that reveal Johnson filed a restraining order against Noth in 1995, after claiming he made repeated calls threatening to “kill” her.
“Chris Noth punched me in the chest and ribs, injuring my ribs, making it difficult to breathe, punching and bruising my face and body in which I had to have medical attention,” Johnson alleged in court docs. “On July 27, 1995, he made repeated threats on my life, making up to 25 calls per day threatening to kill me [and] destroy my face. Threatened to kill dog.”
Separately, in 1993, the Daily News ran an article that alleged Johnson had punched Noth in the face at a movie premiere in New York City.
A judge granted a temporary restraining order, which Johnson filed for in August 1995. A few months later, the order was modified into a mutual restraining order; Johnson and Noth agreed to stay 500 yards away from each other and not to make derogatory statements about one another.
Noth’s representatives did not respond to Variety ‘s request for comment regarding Johnson, and Noth has not made any recent comments to the media, regarding Johnson or the restraining order.
Beverly Johnson and Chris Noth together in 1993 at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. Ron Galella Collection via Getty
This week, an actor on “Sex in the City,” who, in her mid-20’s, worked as Kristin Davis’ stand-in for four seasons, penned an essay for The Independent , calling Noth’s behavior on-set “disgusting” and “toxic.” She alleged Noth slid his hand down her back and “over my butt.”
The female stars of “And Just Like That” — Davis, Cynthia Nixon and Sarah Jessica Parker — addressed the allegations against Noth in a joint statement this week . “We are deeply saddened to hear the allegations against Chris Noth. We 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,” the three actors stated.
During Thursday’s press conference, Allred urged Noth’s “Sex and the City” co-stars — Parker, Nixon and Davis — to publicly express support for the Adult Survivors Act in New York state, which would allow sexual assault victims to seek justice, after the statute of limitations has passed.
“Lisa and I appreciate their words of support,” Allred said of Parker, Nixon and Davis. “And now we urge Sarah, Cynthia and Kristin to take action, to speak out in support of the adult survivors act. Their endorsement of this act would be important.”
Allred said she hopes the three actors will contact New York Governor Kathy Hochul to offer their support for the bill, and also state their willingness to testify in front of the New York State Assembly. (In 2018, Nixon ran for governor of New York as a challenger to the now-disgraced Andrew Cuomo.)
Allred added, “All we want for Christmas is access to justice and the passage of the Adult Survivors Act next year.”
Chris Noth at the red carpet premiere of “And Just Like That,” held at MoMA on Dec. 8 in New York City. Bryan Bedder for Variety
Noth has denied all previous accusations. In response to the women alleging rape and assault in The Hollywood Reporter, Noth said the instances were consensual. In response to the woman who anonymously came forward to The Daily Beast, a representative for Noth said the story was “a complete fabrication” and that “Chris has no knowledge of who this individual is.”
“The accusations against me made by individuals I met years, even decades, ago are categorically false,” Noth said after the first exposé was published . “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.”
