Samantha and Carrie were besties in the groundbreaking HBO series, Sex and the City. But their real life relationship is not a case where art imitates life. Although recent accounts of Kim Cattrall (Samantha) throwing some serious shade Sarah Jessica Parker’s (Carrie) way shocked fans, the animosity is nothing new.
Parker sent her condolences to Cattrall when her brother recently died. But her well wishes were met with a snide tweet. “I don’t need your love or support at this tragic time @ sarahjessicaparker.” What happened to the love between Samantha and Carrie? Signs point to an old-fashioned power struggle, but one heartbreaking reason could be the key.
Cattrall claims she was never friends with the cast
Cattrall insisted in several interviews that her relationship with the cast was solely professional. “We’ve never been friends,” she told CNN. “We’ve been colleagues and in some ways that’s a very healthy place to be because then you have a clear line between your professional life and relationship and your personal.”
Parker thought they were one big happy family
Parker never indicated there was trouble in paradise. She made that point clear after the HBO series wrapped, and the gang did a few movies. “I don’t think anybody wants to believe that I love Kim,” Parker told Elle. “I adore her. I wouldn’t have done the movie without her. Didn’t and wouldn’t.”
Cattrall flip flops
Cattrall acted flummoxed when asked about a feud with Parker. “I think Sarah was right: People don’t want to believe that we get on,” Cattrall told Daily Mail. “They have too much invested in the idea of two strong, successful women fighting with each other. It makes for juicy gossip and copy. The truth of us being friends and getting along and happily doing our jobs together is nowhere near as newsworthy.”
“I think Sarah is fantastic,” she continued. “She is a born leader and she guides the crew and the cast in such a strong but gentle way. She and I are sick of this. It’s exhausting talking about it, and a real bore. Next?”
Money and power can ruin a relationship
Tensions possibly began during the second HBO season of Sex and the City, The Telegraph reported. Apparently, Parker was named executive producer and received a salary bump, which did not sit well with Cattrall. She tried to negotiate more money, which annoyed the cast and crew. During the Emmy Awards, none of the cast or crew would allegedly sit with Cattrall.
Cattrall didn’t have kids because of Sex and the City
The 61-year-old actress recently told Piers Morgan her grueling work schedule stopped her from starting a family, Daily Mail reported. ‘That was my early 40s and I had just started filming Sex and the City, the chances of getting pregnant with these procedures was [referring to IVF], everyone was talking about it,” Cattrall told Morgan.
“How could I possibly continue to do that, especially in my early 40s? And then I realised what a commitment it was just to the procedures,” she continued. “I thought I don’t think this is going to happen. It was the first moment, it was extraordinary, in my life where I thought maybe I’m just not going to do this.” During the interview, Cattrall reiterated that she was not friends with Parker.
Parker doesn’t understand Cattrall’s beef
Parker told People she was disappointed the movie wasn’t going to happen and never responded to Cattrall’s “hurtful” interview with Morgan.
“We had this experience and it was amazing, and nothing will ever be like it. We had a connection with an audience, and we had a connection with the city and with this crew, and we got to tell these crazy stories with each other,” she said to People. “So I don’t want to mess with that. I couldn’t imagine anyone else playing that part. So there was no fight; it was completely fabricated, because I actually never responded. And I won’t, because she needed to say what she needed to say, and that is her privilege.”
Parker reaches out; Cattrall slaps her hand
When Cattrall’s brother died, Parker claims to have privately reached out to Cattrall (and expressed her condolences on social media). But Cattrall had nothing but nastiness for Carrie Bradshaw, saying to Parker on Instagram, “Your continuous reaching out is a very painful reminder of how cruel you really were then and now. Let me make this VERY clear. (If I haven’t already) You are not my family. You are not my friend.” Ouch.
Cattrall’s response to Cynthia Nixon was different
Aside from Parker, Cattrall did thank her other SATC castmates, including Cynthia Nixon, who also contacted her via social media. “Hey, Kim such awful news. So sorry to hear. Sending you love. XO,” the actress who played Miranda Hobbes wrote.
Interestingly, Cattrall accepted Nixon’s condolences and replied to her without the hostility she had toward Parker. She wrote, “Cynthia, hearing your voice meant so much to me. Thank you for reaching out. Love Kim #SexandtheCity.”
Jason Lewis says he’s on Team Sarah
Jason Lewis played Cattrall’s longtime love in the series and first movie as Smith Jerrod. But he’s chosen a side, and it’s not Team Kim. During a Feb. 22 appearance on KTLA, when Lewis was asked about the ladies’ feud, he admitted he was on Team Sarah.
“If you can’t say something nice don’t say anything at all,” Lewis said. He added, “Listen, I have to say that Sarah was always just so lovely and such a consummate professional and I think that people should remember their graciousness and the things that have been given to them.”
When the anchor asked whether he was definitely on Team Sarah, Lewis replied, “I might just have to say yeah.”
Another interesting off screen feud ...
Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling
Together, they might have made one of the most beloved and iconic love stories in recent history, but the once real-life couple didn’t always have such great chemistry. On the 10th anniversary of The Notebook, director Nick Cassavetes revealed that the two didn’t get along on set, with their relationship becoming so tumultuous at one point that Ryan Gosling asked to have Rachel McAdams removed from the set.
They were really not getting along one day on set. Really not. And Ryan came to me, and there’s 150 people standing in this big scene, and he says, “Nick come here.” And he’s doing a scene with Rachel and he says, “Would you take her out of here and bring in another actress to read off camera with me?” I said, “What?” He says, “I can’t. I can’t do it with her. I’m just not getting anything from this.”
The two ended up going into a room with a producer and had it out, leading to (mostly) smooth sailing for the rest of the film. They must have eventually worked things out, as the two dated off screen from mid-2005 to mid-2007.