Peloton Pulls Viral ‘Sexy and the City’ Big Ad Following Chris Noth Sexual Assault Allegations
Peloton scrubbed the viral Sex and the City advertisement following the sexual assault accusations made against actor Chris Noth.
On Thursday (Dec. 16), Peloton removed the advertisement from its social media accounts. The ad was originally well received by fans prior to the accusations, as it received millions of views. The clip pokes fun at Mr. Big's death in the Sex and the City reboot, And Just Like That. His character died of a heart attack while riding a Peloton bike.
After HBO Max released the episode, Peloton's stock fell by five percent, seemingly because of the horrific scene of a beloved character. Actor Ryan Reynolds' company Maximum Effort produced the 40-second commercial to boost the company's image. Peloton later revealed that they had no idea that their stationary bicycle and fitness instructor Jess King's image would be used in that way. Reynolds ended up doing the voiceover for the spot and it became a hit.
“Every single sexual assault accusation must be taken seriously,” a Peloton spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter. “We were unaware of these allegations when we featured Chris Noth in our response to HBO’s reboot. As we seek to learn more, we have stopped promoting this video and archived related social posts.”
Earlier on Thursday, two women came forward and revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that they were sexually assaulted by Noth. The women do not know each other but both said that the hype surrounding the Sex and the City reboot caused them to relive their alleged abuse. The alleged incidents took place in 2004 in Los Angeles and the other in 2015 in New York.
Noth vehemently denied their claims. “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," he said in a statement to the outlet. "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.”