Kim Cattrall Says She Experienced ‘Bullying’ Over Refusal To Do ‘Sex And The City 3’

Though “Sex and the City 3” may never come to fruition, reports of the never-produced film’s demise continue to generate buzz almost a decade after Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw last sashayed across the big screen. 

Speaking to The Guardian in an interview published Saturday, Kim Cattrall opened up briefly about opting out of a third film based on the smash HBO franchise. The actress, who has repeatedly stated her disinterest in reprising her role as Samantha Jones, said she experienced “bullying” as a result of her decision. 

“I went past the finish line playing Samantha Jones because I loved ‘Sex and the City,’” the Golden Globe winner, whose refusal to sign on for SATC 3 effectively killed the film before it got off the ground, said. “It was a blessing in so many ways but after the second movie I’d had enough.”

In 2017, Cattrall told Piers Morgan that the character of Samantha should be recast with an actress of color in a third film. She told The Guardian this week that she was surprised the team behind SATC didn’t opt to pursue that option. 

“I couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t just replace me with another actress instead of wasting time bullying,” she said. “No means no.” 

And though the 62-year-old actress didn’t call out SATC by name, she said her choice of acting projects had been shaped by the 2012 death of her father, Dennis. 

“Now I don’t want to be in a situation for even an hour where I’m not enjoying myself,” she said. “I want to choose who I spend time with personally and professionally. It’s my life. … I’ve become aware there’s only so much time left.” 

Cattrall will return to the small screen as the wife of a Christian evangelical preacher with a few secrets to hide in Fox’s “Filthy Rich,” due out next year.  Still, she can’t seem to shake the ghost of Samantha, whom she played in all six seasons of the HBO series and two successful, if critically uneven, films. 

Her comments to The Guardian come weeks after she told the Daily Mail she would “never” return to SATC in any capacity. 

Rumors of an on-set feud plagued Cattrall and Parker for years. In 2017, Cattrall appeared to acknowledge a frosty relationship between the two when she told Morgan that Parker “could have been nicer” and later blasted her co-star on Instagram. 

Still, Parker has repeatedly dismissed the reports, and told People in 2018, “I never talked about it, except [to say] that some of us were disappointed [about the movie not happening]. But I never responded to the conversation Kim had with Piers Morgan, where she said things that were really hurtful about me.”

“We had this experience and it was amazing, and nothing will ever be like it,” Parker added.