Chris Noth fired from The Equalizer after sexual assault allegations
In a joint statement today (per Deadline), studio Universal Television and CBS kept things blunt and to the point: “Chris Noth will no longer film additional episodes of The Equalizer, effective immediately.” Noth played William Bishop on the Queen Latifah-fronted series, and will reportedly appear in one more episode that has already been filmed.
The accusations of assault came days following the premiere of And Just Like That on HBO Max, which featured the actor reprising his role as Mr. Big before the character’s death at the end of the premiere. Since the reports surfaced, Noth has been dropped by his agency and a Peloton ad featuring him, which was inspired by Big’s death scene on the Sex and the City follow-up, has been pulled off the internet.
It should not come as a shock that The Equalizer would make a decision both quick and firm in an era where there is an increasingly zero-tolerance policy for such allegations. Noth has denied any wrongdoing in a statement, calling the past relationships “consensual” and claiming that saying something otherwise is “categorically false.” It also makes sense for them to make the move now while the show is on a holiday hiatus production-wise.
As for how the CBS series chooses to replace Bishop, they have a couple of possibilities — a recast feels possible since the series is still fairly early on in its run. Another potential move is that they go in a completely different direction and bring on a totally new character. Because Noth was not the main star of the series, there are a number of different directions they could opt to take the story from here on out without changing the journey of Latifah’s Robyn McCall.
For more news regarding The Equalizer, we suggest that you visit the link here. Meanwhile, be sure to share some of your thoughts on CBS and the studio’s decision in the comments. (Photo: CBS.)