Cattrall-Parker feud was brewing for two decades: report

Kim Cattrall snubbed Sarah Jessica Parker on Instagram Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018. (Reuters)

The public feud between former “Sex and the City” co-stars Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker has been privately brewing since the early days of the show ─ two decades ago ─ with the latest burst being just the latest example.

Cattrall announced the death of her brother Christopher on social media last week, prompting thousands of fans and close friends to send condolences to the actress and her family.

Among those commenting was Cattrall’s longtime show co-star Parker, who wrote: “Dearest Kim, my love and condolences to you and yours and Godspeed to your beloved brother. Xx.”

But Cattrall was not enthused by Parker’s gesture. She snapped back in an Instagram post asking her to “stop exploiting our tragedy in order to restore your ‘nice girl’ persona” and shared a New York Post article detailing the “mean-girls” culture encouraged by Parker.

“My mom asked me today ‘When will that Sarah Jessica Parker, that hypocrite, leave you alone?’ Your continuous reaching out is a painful reminder of how cruel you really were then and now,” Cattrall wrote on Instagram.

“Let me make this VERY clear. (If I haven’t already). You are not my family. You are not my friend. So I’m writing to tell you one last time to stop exploiting our tragedy in order to restore your ‘nice girl’ persona.”

Both Cattrall and Parker have long competed for the spotlight on the show. Parker, the natural heroine of the series, was often side-showed by Cattrall whose character amassed a faithful following.

According to the Post and a 2008 book proposal shopped by Clifford Streit, tensions on the filming set started mostly because Cattrall was “a natural comedienne, and a scene-stealer in the best possible sense — the camera went right to her.”

This reportedly led to Parker and the show's two other stars, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon ganging up on Cattrall.

The reported mean-girl group would leave out Cattrall during lunches and stay in a separate hotel when shooting out of town, The Daily Mail reported.

Parker and Cattrall continued to feud on set over multiple issues, including keeping a bra on during intimate scenes — Parker was reportedly allowed to keep it while Cattrall was not endowed with the privilege.

Kim Cattrall (right) said she and her "Sex and the City" co-stars were not close. (Reuters)

But at the core of the hostility between the two stars was reportedly the pay. Parker quickly rose through the ranks on the show, becoming the executive producer and finally having a say over the series in addition to hefty paychecks, reaching $1 million per episode. Cattrall meanwhile received only a portion of the money despite her protests — around $350,000 per episode, the report said.

After the end of the show on HBO, the show got a spin-off movie in 2008, raking up over $400 million worldwide in box office. The production of the movie was allegedly delayed over salary negotiations. In the end, Parker earned twice what Cattrall got for the movie — $10 million compared to $5 million, the Mail reported.

Cattrall said no to a third spin-off movie of “Sex And The City” in 2017, prompting a controversy as she got accused of actually tanking the production of the movie after making allegedly outrageous demands.

She denied making the demands, telling a British talk show host: “The answer was always no. I never asked for any money, I never asked for any projects. To be thought of as some kind of diva is ridiculous.”

“Nobody ever picks up the phone and tries to contact you and say, ‘How you doing?‘ That would have been the way to handle it,” she added. “This is, it feels like, a toxic relationship.”