Washington: Another woman has come forward to accuse ‘Sex and the City’ actor Chris Noth of sexual assault days after the initial allegations against the actor made headlines.
As per Variety, in a press conference with her attorney Gloria Allred, singer-songwriter Lisa Gentile alleged that she was “sexually victimized” and “sexually abused” by Noth in 2002. She claimed that the ‘Law & Order’ actor forcibly pulled her, kissed her and touched her.
“I was trying to get him to stop,” Gentile said.
The day after the alleged incident, Gentile shared that 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.”
Gentile said that she first met Noth in 1998 at the restaurant Da Marino in the theatre 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 talk 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 said 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 claimed that 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.
Gentile told reporters that she came 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.
Allred also spoke during the press conference and mentioned the statement that ‘Sex and the City’ actors Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis recently issued in the wake of the multiple sexual assault allegations against Noth which first surfaced in a Hollywood Reporter article last week.
“We are deeply saddened to hear the allegations against Chris Noth,” the actors wrote in the joint statement shared on social media on Monday.
They continued, “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.”
As per People magazine, Allred called upon the three actors to support the Adult Survivors Act in New York, which “would create a one year look back window for adult survivors of adult sexual abuse to hold those who have sexually victimized them accountable,” she said.
“Lisa and I appreciate their words of support for the previous accusers of Chris Noth and now we urge Sarah, Cynthia and Kristin to take action to speak out in support of the Adult Survivors Act as Lisa and I are doing today,” Allred said after sharing that the statute of limitations is up on Gentile’s case, meaning she cannot pursue a criminal case against him.
Gentile’s allegation comes one week after two women accused Noth of sexually assaulting them, giving their accounts to The Hollywood Reporter for an article that was published on December 16.
In a previous statement, Noth, who has been married to Tara Wilson since 2012, denied the allegations and called both situations “consensual.”
“The accusations against me made by individuals I met years, even decades, ago are categorically false,” he said.
He added, “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. 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.”
On December 17, a third woman came forward with sexual assault allegations against Noth. In a report published by the Daily Beast, a woman, who wished to remain anonymous but used the pseudonym Ava, told the outlet that when she was 18, Noth had sexually assaulted her while she was working at a New York City restaurant in 2010.
Noth denied the third woman’s account in a statement. “The story is a complete fabrication, and the alleged accounts detailed throughout read like a piece of bad fiction,” his rep said.
“As Chris stated yesterday, he has and would never cross that line,” the rep added.
‘Law and Order’ actor Zoe Lister-Jones also posted a statement on her Instagram handle a few days back where she alleged that Noth “is a sexual predator.”
After news of the allegations surfaced, Universal Television and CBS confirmed that Noth will no longer be filming episodes of ‘The Equalizer’. Noth’s talent agency, A3 Artists Agency, also dropped him.