Another woman has said she was sexually assaulted by actor Chris Noth, becoming the fourth woman this month to make allegations against the “Law & Order” and “Sex and the City” star.
Lisa Gentile, a singer-songwriter, came forward on Thursday to allege she was assaulted by Noth in 2002, becoming the first of his accusers to name herself publicly.
The Hollywood Reporter last week published the accounts of two anonymous women who accused of Noth of sexual assault in alleged incidents from 2004 and 2015.
Noth last week denied the allegations from the Hollywood Reporter story. “The encounters were consensual,” he said. “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.”
Another unnamed woman came forward to the Daily Beast the day after the Hollywood Reporter article to say Noth assaulted her in 2010; Noth denied her account through a spokesperson, calling it a “complete fabrication.”
NBC News has not independently spoken to any of the anonymous accusers and does not know their identities. Representatives for Noth did not immediately respond to an NBC News request for comment on Gentile’s allegations on Thursday.
Gentile said she first met Noth at Don Marino, a New York restaurant, in 1998 and struck up a conversation-based friendship over the years.
Gentile, at a press conference on Thursday, said one night in 2002 the actor offered her a ride home. When she and Noth were in her apartment, Gentile alleges he groped her, attempted to remove her clothing and attempted to push her hands toward his groin. She said he became “extremely angry” and stormed out after she said, “No, I don’t want this!”
She said Noth called her the next day and “warned me that if I ever told a soul about what happened the night before, that he would ruin my career, that I would never sing again, and he would blacklist me in the business.”
“I was afraid to come forward because of Mr. Noth’s power and his threats to ruin my career,” Gentile said.
Gloria Allred, Gentile’s attorney, said on Thursday that the New York state statute of limitations currently prevents her client from taking legal action.
“The courthouse door is slammed shut in her face, denying her an opportunity to assert and vindicate her rights in a court of law because of the statute of limitations,” Allred said.
“I feel that we should have our day in court to seek to hold Mr. Noth accountable for what he did,” Gentile said.
Allred, a veteran litigator, called upon Noth’s former “Sex and the City” co-stars to speak out in support of a bill before the New York state legislature to change the statute of limitations.
“Lisa and I appreciate their words of support for the previous accusers of Chris Noth, and now, we urge Sarah, Cynthia and Kristen to take action to speak out in support of the Adult Survivors Act, as Lisa and I are doing today,” Allred said. “Their endorsement of this act will be important to its passage when the New York legislature begins its session next month.”
Allred also issued something of a political challenge to the New York legislature and governor.
“We also call on the first woman governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, to include the passage of the ASA in her state of the state address in the assembly chamber when she delivers her remarks in less than two weeks on January 5, 2022.”
“We also urge Chris Noth to speak out in support of the New York Adult Survivors Act,” Allred said. “He has asserted in his statement that everything he did with those who have accused him was consensual. If that is true, then he should support the ASA so that the accusers’ allegations can be resolved in a court of law, rather than in a court of public opinion.”
The attorney said Gentile found it “upsetting to see him in the news recently,” echoing sentiments of some of the other accusers. “Definitely, it was triggering for Lisa.”
Following the initial allegations last week, Peloton pulled an ad featuring Noth, he was dropped from the cast of CBS series “The Equalizer” and a multimillion deal involving his tequila company fell through.