June 1998. 'Sex and the City' debuts on US TV. It’s worth noting that of the four main stars, Parker and Cattrall were both in movies, with SJP having starred in 'Footloose', 'Mars Attacks!', 'LA Story', 'Hocus Pocus' and more. While Cattrall boasted the likes 'Police Academy', 'Big Trouble in Little China', 'Mannequin' and 'The Bonfire of the Vanities' on her resumé. Insiders will later point to SJP’s salary in relation to Cattrall’s as a starting point of the feud. Getty Images
June 1998. 'Sex and the City' debuts on US TV. It’s worth noting that of the four main stars, Parker and Cattrall were both in movies, with SJP having starred in 'Footloose', 'Mars Attacks!', 'LA Story', 'Hocus Pocus' and more. While Cattrall boasted the likes 'Police Academy', 'Big Trouble in Little China', 'Mannequin' and 'The Bonfire of the Vanities' on her resumé. Insiders will later point to SJP’s salary in relation to Cattrall’s as a starting point of the feud. Getty Images
August 2002. While in Atlantic City, New Jersey, filming the season five episode 'Luck Be An Old Lady', the Irish Mirror revealed: “There were reports SJP, Cynthia and Kristin all stayed at a house together, while Kim was forced to find her own accommodation.” During seasons five and six, SJP’s salary was rumoured to have increased to $1 million per episode, while Kristen Davis, Cynthia Nixon’s and Kim Cattrall’s was $350,000. AFP
August 2002. While in Atlantic City, New Jersey, filming the season five episode 'Luck Be An Old Lady', the Irish Mirror revealed: “There were reports SJP, Cynthia and Kristin all stayed at a house together, while Kim was forced to find her own accommodation.” During seasons five and six, SJP’s salary was rumoured to have increased to $1 million per episode, while Kristen Davis, Cynthia Nixon’s and Kim Cattrall’s was $350,000. AFP
September 2004. At the Emmys, Parker, Nixon, and Davis all sat together at a table celebrating two wins for the show – Sarah Jessica Parker for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and Cynthia Nixon for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series – while Cattrall sat by herself. In 2008, British newspaper The Telegraph reported Cattrall as saying: “Are we the best of friends? No. We're professional actresses. We have our own separate lives.” Getty Images
September 2004. At the Emmys, Parker, Nixon, and Davis all sat together at a table celebrating two wins for the show – Sarah Jessica Parker for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and Cynthia Nixon for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series – while Cattrall sat by herself. In 2008, British newspaper The Telegraph reported Cattrall as saying: “Are we the best of friends? No. We're professional actresses. We have our own separate lives.” Getty Images
September 2017. A report in the Daily Mail revealed: “Warner Bros had given [Sex and the City 3] the green light after months of speculation and the movie was supposed to start filming in the coming days. However, the studio can no longer move ahead as Cattrall, 61, demanded they produce other movies she had in development or she wouldn't sign up for the project. Warner Bros refused to meet her demands and had to cancel production as the company decided it wouldn't be fair to fans to produce a movie with only three of the four main characters.” Cattrall tweeted on September 29: “The only ‘demand’ I ever made was that I didn’t want to do a 3rd film… & that was back in 2016.” Getty Images
September 2017. A report in the Daily Mail revealed: “Warner Bros had given [Sex and the City 3] the green light after months of speculation and the movie was supposed to start filming in the coming days. However, the studio can no longer move ahead as Cattrall, 61, demanded they produce other movies she had in development or she wouldn't sign up for the project. Warner Bros refused to meet her demands and had to cancel production as the company decided it wouldn't be fair to fans to produce a movie with only three of the four main characters.” Cattrall tweeted on September 29: “The only ‘demand’ I ever made was that I didn’t want to do a 3rd film… & that was back in 2016.” Getty Images
October 2017. Kim appears on 'Piers Morgan’s Life Stories' and says of her co-stars: “We’ve never been friends. We’ve been colleagues.” She said of Parker: “I think she could have been nicer. I don’t know what her issue is ... It feels like a toxic relationship.” Getty Images
October 2017. Kim appears on 'Piers Morgan’s Life Stories' and says of her co-stars: “We’ve never been friends. We’ve been colleagues.” She said of Parker: “I think she could have been nicer. I don’t know what her issue is ... It feels like a toxic relationship.” Getty Images
October 2017. Willie Garson, who played Stanford Blatch in the show, showed which side he was on in the feud when he tweeted: “Dear fans, because I’m ‘toxic’, I’m going to negotiate a contract for 6 months, not come to terms, then say I never wanted to do it anyway.” Getty Images
October 2017. Willie Garson, who played Stanford Blatch in the show, showed which side he was on in the feud when he tweeted: “Dear fans, because I’m ‘toxic’, I’m going to negotiate a contract for 6 months, not come to terms, then say I never wanted to do it anyway.” Getty Images
February 2018. When Parker offers her condolences to Cattrall during an interview with Extra TV, after her brother passed away at the age of 55, Cattrall took to Instagram, calling the New York-based actress a “hypocrite”. “My Mom asked me today: ‘When will that @sarahjessicaparker, that hypocrite, leave you alone?’ Your continuous reaching out is a painful reminder of how cruel you really were then and now. 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.” Getty Images
February 2018. When Parker offers her condolences to Cattrall during an interview with Extra TV, after her brother passed away at the age of 55, Cattrall took to Instagram, calling the New York-based actress a “hypocrite”. “My Mom asked me today: ‘When will that @sarahjessicaparker, that hypocrite, leave you alone?’ Your continuous reaching out is a painful reminder of how cruel you really were then and now. 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.” Getty Images
February 2018. Jason Lewis, who played Samantha's actor boyfriend Smith Jerrod, stepped into the fray saying in an interview with KTLA: “Listen, I have to say that Sarah was always just so lovely and such a consummate professional and I think that people should remember their graciousness and the things that have been given to them. And I'm going to stop there. Because I've got nothing good to say.” And when asked if he was Team Sarah over Team Kim, he replied: “I might just have to say yeah. What a gracious lady. She was always so good to me.” Courtesy HBO
February 2018. Jason Lewis, who played Samantha's actor boyfriend Smith Jerrod, stepped into the fray saying in an interview with KTLA: “Listen, I have to say that Sarah was always just so lovely and such a consummate professional and I think that people should remember their graciousness and the things that have been given to them. And I'm going to stop there. Because I've got nothing good to say.” And when asked if he was Team Sarah over Team Kim, he replied: “I might just have to say yeah. What a gracious lady. She was always so good to me.” Courtesy HBO
August 2019. In an interview with The Guardian, Cattrall insisted that everyone should move on, saying: “I couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t just replace me with another actress instead of wasting time bullying. No means no.” Courtesy HBO
August 2019. In an interview with The Guardian, Cattrall insisted that everyone should move on, saying: “I couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t just replace me with another actress instead of wasting time bullying. No means no.” Courtesy HBO
January 2021. After months of speculation about the reboot, Parker took to Instagram to share a video which read: “And Just Like That …” She added: "I couldn’t help but wonder... where are they now? X.” Responding to a fan in the comments who wrote: “Happy to see you back but will miss Kim/Samantha”, Parker replied, “We will too. We loved her so. X.” She also wrote to another fan: “No. I don’t dislike her. I’ve never said that. Never would. Samantha isn’t part of this story. But she will always be part of us. No matter where we are or what we do.” Courtesy HBO
January 2021. After months of speculation about the reboot, Parker took to Instagram to share a video which read: “And Just Like That …” She added: "I couldn’t help but wonder... where are they now? X.” Responding to a fan in the comments who wrote: “Happy to see you back but will miss Kim/Samantha”, Parker replied, “We will too. We loved her so. X.” She also wrote to another fan: “No. I don’t dislike her. I’ve never said that. Never would. Samantha isn’t part of this story. But she will always be part of us. No matter where we are or what we do.” Courtesy HBO

The National

Spat in the city: A timeline of the 23-year feud between Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall

As ‘Sex and the City’ gets rebooted, Kim Cattrall’s character Samantha Jones will not be returning. Here’s why…

Gemma White
Dubai

January 13, 2021

  • English
  • Arabic

When it comes to Hollywood feuds, they endure like no others because of the fame and money, not to mention egos, involved. What's more, they almost always go public despite the participants' claims about privacy, because how else will a star get their fans to choose a side if they don't know what's going on?

One such feud which has so far lasted 23 years and counting, is the one between onscreen BFFs, Sex and the City's Carrie Bradshaw and Samantha Jones, aka Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall.

Scroll through the gallery above for a timeline of the pair's tumultuous relationship...

'Sex and the City' is being rebooted with a new 10-part HBO Max series, 'And Just Like That', albeit without Kim Cattrall's Samantha Jones. HBO Max
'Sex and the City' is being rebooted with a new 10-part HBO Max series, 'And Just Like That', albeit without Kim Cattrall's Samantha Jones. HBO Max

Although rumours of discord between the pair have been around since the show debuted back in 2008, news of the feud really blew up when in February 2018 when Parker offered her condolences to Cattrall after her brother passed away, leading Cattrall to take to Instagram to post "I don't need your love or support at this tragic time @sarahjessicaparker."

Following years of speculation, which saw Liverpool-born Cattrall blamed for the third SATC movie getting canned, on January 11, Parker took to Instagram to reveal that the hugely anticipated movie will go ahead without Samantha Jones.

Here’s all we know about one of TV's longest-running feuds...

June 1998

Sex and the City debuts on HBO. It's worth noting that of the four main stars, Parker and Cattrall were both in movies, with SJP having starred in Footloose, Mars Attacks!, LA Story, Hocus Pocus and more. While Cattrall boasted the likes Police Academy, Big Trouble in Little China, Mannequin and The Bonfire of the Vanities on her resume. Insiders will later point to SJP's salary in relation to Cattrall's as a starting point of the feud.

August 2002

While in Atlantic City, New Jersey, filming the season five episode Luck Be An Old Lady, the Irish Mirror revealed: "There were reports SJP, Cynthia [Nixon] and Kristin [Davis] all stayed at a house together, while Kim was forced to find her own accommodation." During seasons five and six, SJP's salary was rumoured to have increased to $1 million per episode, while Davis, Nixon and Cattrall's was $350,000.

September 2004

At the Emmys, Parker, Nixon, and Davis all sat together at a table celebrating two wins for the show – Parker for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and Nixon for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series – while Cattrall sat by herself. In 2008, British newspaper The Telegraph reported Cattrall as saying: "Are we the best of friends? No. We're professional actresses. We have our own separate lives."

September 2017

A report in the Daily Mail revealed: "Warner Bros had given [Sex and the City 3] the green light after months of speculation and the movie was supposed to start filming in the coming days. However, the studio can no longer move ahead as Cattrall, 61, demanded they produce other movies she had in development or she wouldn't sign up for the project. Warner Bros refused to meet her demands and had to cancel production as the company decided it wouldn't be fair to fans to produce a movie with only three of the four main characters."

Cattrall tweeted on September 29: “The only ‘demand’ I ever made was that I didn’t want to do a 3rd film… & that was back in 2016.”

October 2017

Cattrall appears on Piers Morgan's Life Stories and says of her co-stars: "We've never been friends. We've been colleagues." She said of Parker: "I think she could have been nicer. I don't know what her issue is ... It feels like a toxic relationship."

October 2017

Willie Garson, who played Stanford Blatch in the show, showed which side he was on in the feud when he tweeted: “Dear fans, because I’m ‘toxic’, I’m going to negotiate a contract for 6 months, not come to terms, then say I never wanted to do it anyway.”

February 2018

When Parker offered her condolences to Cattrall during an interview with Extra TV, after Cattrall's brother passed away at the age of 55, she took to Instagram to call Parker a “hypocrite”.

"My Mom asked me today: 'When will that @sarahjessicaparker, that hypocrite, leave you alone?' You're continuous reaching out is a painful reminder of how cruel you really were then and now. 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."

February 2018

Jason Lewis, who played Samantha's actor boyfriend Smith Jerrod, stepped into the fray saying in an interview with KTLA: “Listen, I have to say that Sarah was always just so lovely and such a consummate professional and I think that people should remember their graciousness and the things that have been given to them. And I'm going to stop there. Because I've got nothing good to say.” And when asked if he was Team Sarah over Team Kim, he replied: “I might just have to say yeah. What a gracious lady. She was always so good to me.”

August 2019

In an interview with The Guardian, Cattrall insisted that everyone should move on, saying: "I couldn't understand why they wouldn't just replace me with another actress instead of wasting time bullying. No means no."

January 2021

After months of speculation about the reboot, Parker took to Instagram to share a video which read: “And Just Like That …” She added: "I couldn’t help but wonder... where are they now? X.” Responding to a fan in the comments who wrote: “Happy to see you back but will miss Kim/Samantha”, Parker replied, “We will too. We loved her so. X.”

She also wrote to another fan: “No. I don’t dislike her. I’ve never said that. Never would. Samantha isn’t part of this story. But she will always be part of us. No matter where we are or what we do.”

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On Women's Day
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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