Chris Noth: Two women accuse Sex And The City actor of sexual assault

Two women have accused Sex And The City actor Chris Noth of sexually assaulting them in 2004 and 2015.

The women gave detailed accounts of the alleged assaults to The Hollywood Reporter, published using the pseudonyms Zoe and Lily.

The magazine says the women do not know each other.

In a statement, Mr Noth, 67, said "the encounters were consensual" and that the accusations of assault are "categorically false".

Zoe, now 40, says she was 22 years old when the actor allegedly raped her at an apartment in West Hollywood in 2004.

Lily, now 31, says she was raped in his Greenwich Village apartment in New York City in 2015 when she was 25 and he was 60.

The detailed article by journalist Kim Masters also interviews people such as Zoe's boss at the time, a rape treatment centre and a friend of Lily's whose accounts all seem to back up both women's claims. The article also quotes text messages purportedly between Mr Noth and Lily at the time of the alleged assault.

Chris Noth is known for his acting roles in Law & Order and Sex And The City, in which he played a lead character, Mr Big. A follow on from the hugely popular series, entitled And Just Like That... has recently been released.

The BBC has contacted him for comment.

A statement from the actor to The Hollywood Reporter and Rolling Stone reads:

"The accusations against me made by individuals I met years, even decades, ago are categorically false.

"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. The encounters were consensual.

"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."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lily, now a journalist, contacted the publication in August, and Zoe, who works in the entertainment industry, made contact in October, as buzz about the release of And Just Like That... was gaining momentum.

"Seeing that he was reprising his role in Sex and the City set off something in me," Zoe is quoted as saying, adding that for many years she "buried" her memories, but has now decided "to try to go public with who he is."

The article says that Zoe was living in Los Angeles in 2004 and employed by a company that worked with Mr Noth and other celebrities.

Following what she describes as flirtations, Zoe says she accepted an invitation to visit him at his West Hollywood apartment, where she alleges he raped her.

Afterwards, a friend insisted they go to a hospital, where she needed stitches because of the assault. Police came to speak to her, but she says she refused to reveal who had assaulted her.

Zoe did, however, tell her boss at the time. The Hollywood Reporter says it spoke to them, and they back up Zoe's claims.

In 2006, Zoe says she sought counselling at the UCLA Rape Crisis Center after she started having nightmares and flashbacks. Without addressing her case specifically, a clinical director at the centre confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Zoe was treated there.

The article goes on to say that Lily met Mr Noth, of whom she was an enormous fan, while working as a waitress in the VIP section of a New York nightclub in 2015.

"He was hitting on me, for sure. I was flattered. I knew he was married, which is shameful of me to admit," she is quoted as saying.

The two went out for drinks, she said, before going back to his apartment, where he "tried to make out" with her, before allegedly pulling down his pants and raping her.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, its correspondent viewed a number of text messages purportedly between the actor and Lily in March and April 2015.

In one, he says: "By the way I have to ask did you enjoy our night last week. I thought it was a lot of fun but I wasn't quite sure how you felt."

Lily replied: Hmm…I certainly enjoyed your company. Great conversation. Not to go into specifics over text message, but I did feel slightly used…"

Chris Noth has been married to actress Tara Wilson since 2012. They have two children together.