Kim Cattrall has been transparent about her time on Sex and The City and sources close to the star say she is still haunted by the turmoil she went through while filming.
“Kim has tried to move on, but the scars run deep. She put so much of herself into playing Samantha and was heartbroken when things got so toxic behind the scenes,” an insider close to the situation exclusively tells the National Enquirer.
Cattrall, 68, became a fan-favorite while appearing on the hit HBO series as free-spirited public relations executive Samantha Jones for the entirety of its original six-season run — from 1998 to 2004.
The About My Father actress first spoke out about her former SATC costars in a September 2017 interview with Piers Morgan, per the BBC, claiming they had “never been friends” and that Sarah Jessica Parker could have been “nicer.” Around that time, reports surfaced claiming the two had disagreements over salary and producer credits.
Cattrall also slammed the Hocus Pocus actress, 60, five months later on social media after Parker offered Cattrall — whose brother had just died — her condolences via Instagram, reportedly firing back by telling SJP to “stop exploiting our tragedy in order to restore your ‘nice girl’ persona.”
The insider tells the Enquirer that Cattrall was over feeling “iced out and disrespected by the other women, especially Sarah Jessica, and no matter how much time passes, that kind of betrayal doesn’t just fade away.”
“She’s talked about it in therapy and with close friends and there are still triggers that bring up anxiety and emotional distress, getting bullied the way she did is a trauma that’s very hard to move past,” the insider adds.
Cattrall notably reprised her role in the two feature films released in 2008 and 2010, later opting out of the series reboot, And Just Like That, although Cattrall did have a brief cameo in season two.
“Even seeing promotions for the new series put her on edge because it was such a painful chapter of her life. She was talked into making a cameo last season but no amount of money could lure her back again,” the insider continues.
“She’s proud she finally found her voice and stuck up for herself but it’s still something she’s working through. She loved the fans, she loved the character, she just wishes it had ended differently,” says the insider. “She’s still healing, and while she may never fully forgive Sarah Jessica or the producers, she’s focusing on her peace, he wants to be done reliving the pain.”
Parker shared her side of the story on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast in 2022. She admitted to finding Cattrall’s public comments “very painful” because they did not reflect “our experience,” referring to fellow costars Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon.
“I’ve spent a lot of years working really hard to always be decent to everybody on the set, to take care of people, to be responsible to and for people, both my employers and the people that I feel I’m responsible for as a producer of the show,” Parker said. “And there just isn’t anyone else who’s ever talked about me this way.”
