The Story Behind Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall’s Feud

On screen, Sex and the City stars Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall couldn't be closer. After all, the actors spent six seasons of the HBO sitcom (and two spin-off films) playing TV besties Carrie Bradshaw and Samantha Jones. But behind the scenes, a feud was bubbling between the pair; one which would soon burst out into public and get a whole lot messier.

Last year, the pair shared the screen once more in SATC spin-off And Just Like That..., with Kim making a brief cameo in season two. But while fans hoped this could be a sign of reconciliation between Kim and SJP, after Kim was the only Sex and the City lead not to return for AJLT, that couldn't be further from the case. In fact, Kim's brief cameo was filmed entirely separately from Olivier nominee Sarah, as well as Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon. And when rumours emerged in July claiming that Kim Cattrall was returning for And Just Like That... season three, she shut them down on X (formerly Twitter) with a few shady words: 'Aw that’s so kind but I’m not [kiss emoji].'

With Kim's very public, very messy feud with SJP rumbling on for years, a number of their former co-stars have chosen sides in the beef. Actor Jason Lewis, who played Samantha's love interest Smith Jerrod, told Closer that he hadn't spoken to Kim since the feud and 'loved' Sarah. 'We haven't fallen out, but I've made no secret of the fact I love Sarah and she was only ever great to me, so I think the way she was treated was unfair,' he said. 'I'm all about being nice, so if you can't say something nice, don't say it.'

However, in a recent interview with The Guardian, Kim suggested that long-standing rumours of tension between the cast members had been blown out of proportion. 'I mean, The Sopranos has never had any questions asked about whether or not they like each other, because they’re not all women,' she said.

But what did happen? Why did the actresses fall out so massively? For those who have forgotten, it's certainly a long story.

Here's why Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall fell out:

Following the series end in 2004, there had long been reports that Kim, 65, SJP, 56, Kristin Davis, 56, and Cynthia Nixon, 55, weren't exactly best of friends. In a 2017 New York Post article, titled 'Inside the mean-girl culture that destroyed SATC', it notes that SJP and Cynthia quickly became friends as they knew each other before their time on the show as young Broadway actresses, and they then included Kristin in their group. However, Kim was left feeling even more isolated when series creator and producer Darren Star left, who was replaced by SJP's friend Michael Patrick King.

Four years after the series finished, a report in The Telegraph stated that Sarah and Kim fell out over money when SJP was given an executive producer title in the second season, which increased her salary to $300,000. Upon finding this out, Kim apparently tried to negotiate for a higher salary - but this didn’t go down well, as apparently the other lead actresses ‘wouldn’t even sit with [Kim] at meal times.’ This same report also looked back at the time in 2004, when Kim didn't sit with the other actresses at the Emmys - to which she said: 'Are we the best of friends? No. We're professional actresses. We have our own separate lives.'

Ouch. It didn't get any better on the set of the first Sex and the City movie - as a 2009 article in New York Magazine said Sarah and Kim were no longer speaking. However, both of them later said in separate interviews that a feud didn't exist, and people simply didn't want to believe they got on.

Fast forward a few years, and it was reported that Kim was the reason the third SATC movie was stalled. According to The Daily Mail, she wanted Warner Bros to produce other movies she had in development or she wouldn't sign up for the project. Kim denied this, but in an episode of Piers Morgan's Life Stories that year, she confirmed that she had no interest in ever returning to the franchise. She told Piers: 'We've never been friends - we've been colleagues. And in some ways that's a very healthy place to be, as you have a clear line between your professional life, and your personal, too.' Then, Kim said she thought SJO 'could have been nicer' to her.

Why wasn't Kim Cattrall in And Just Like That season one?

A year later in 2018, and their feud was left in no doubt. Following reports Kim's brother had died, SJP shared her condolences with her former castmate in an Instagram comment. This did not go down well with Kim, who responded in a separate post: 'Your continuous reaching out is a painful reminder of how cruel you really were then and now,' she wrote. ‘Let me make this VERY clear. (If I haven’t already). You are not my family. You are not my friend.'

After losing her brother, Kim acknowledged that her perspective on life had shifted - giving a clue as to why she was no longer interested in partaking in SATC franchises. 'The tragedies in my life continue to shape me,' she told The Guardian. 'Now I don’t want to be in a situation for even an hour where I’m not enjoying myself. I want to choose who I spend time with personally and professionally. It’s my life. I lost my dad seven years ago, to Alzheimer’s, and Mum has just turned 90. I’ve become aware there’s only so much time left.'

Kim is also said to have been disappointed with writers initial plans for Samantha's storyline in the second film and the planned third - the plot was said to have Brady, Miranda's 14-year-old son, sext Samantha – and even suggested Samantha as a character should simply be recast. But who would ever be able to take Samantha's place? Honey, don't be ridiculous.

So when it was announced in 2021 that Sex and the City was being revived for And Just Like That... without Kim's involvement, nobody was too surprised. In her New Yorker interview, Sarah said that Samantha hadn't been included as 'we felt like it had been made clear by [Kim] that this was not a character she wanted to revisit'.

What happened in Kim Cattrall's And Just Like That... cameo?

In May 2023, SATC fans were shocked as reports emerged that Kim had returned to Carrie Bradshaw's New York to film a short cameo for And Just Like That.... However, it was claimed that Kim did not share a room with any of her co-stars or showrunner Michael – instead filming her scene in a separate 'garage'.

Sarah, an executive producer on the show, later said that it was a 'big bummer' that the news had leaked and couldn't be a surprise. Discussing the cameo, she said, 'We've been really thoughtful about the ways in which we've approached characters that hadn't been around, the ways we have invited actors back. It's been really fun and exciting and certainly nostalgic, but I think more than that, it's been a lot of joy.'

In the scene, Carrie gets a call from Samantha, who is in a car in London. She tells Carrie that she had been planning to come and surprise her in New York, but that her flight was delayed and she was 'fucking furious' about it. 'Ta and cheerio, and have a great night,' she ended the call, concluding the short scene.

But while fans hoped Samantha might be sticking around, Kim poured water on this idea. In an interview at the time, she described her brief return as 'dipping my toe back in time and having a wonderful afternoon', but stressed that this was 'as far as I’m gonna go'.

Kristin, meanwhile, said in another interview that 'she just thought that it would be fun for the fans to have a little bit of Samantha, because we know that they miss her and she's a great character. I don't know that we're even trying for closure at this point, or resolution. I think we just thought, here is our character who's been gone. And we know people miss her and Carrie misses her [...] Then I think maybe hopes have been lifted, possibly higher than that. And that was not our intention. So I hope people aren't disappointed.'

What has Sarah Jessica Parker said about her feud with Kim Cattrall?

Despite their falling out, Sarah has remained steadfast in not badmouthing her former co-star. In a 2023 interview with The New Yorker, she said, 'It’s the weirdest thing, to be told we’re in a catfight. I would never speak poorly about Kim. I just wouldn’t.'

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