The Equalizer Star Sacked Amid Multiple Sexual Assault Allegations

Chris Noth has been officially dropped from The Equalizer following multiple allegations of sexual assault.

“Chris Noth will no longer film additional episodes of The Equalizer, effective immediately,” Universal Television and CBS confirmed in a joint statement on Monday, Dec. 20.

Noth, 67, played William Bishop, a former CIA director who works as a liaison between vigilante Robyn McCall (Queen Latifah) and the government agency where she also worked during his stint on The Equalizer.

In December 2021, two women came out with allegations that The Equalizer alum had previously assaulted them.

Noth’s Alleged Victims

In a Hollywood Reporter profile, one of the alleged victims, Zoe, claimed that the actor "raped her from behind" in 2004 after they met at a high-profile Los Angeles event.

The Wisconsin native allegedly flirted with Zoe, who was 22 at the time, before asking her to his West Hollywood flat. He kissed and assaulted Zoe there, she alleged, even laughing when she asked him to wear a "condom" during the "painful" experience.

Lily, another accuser who met him while working at a New York City nightclub in 2015, also accused him of misbehavior in the THR report. She stated that after a night of drinking, the star asked her back to his residence.

“He said marriage is a sham. Monogamy is not real,” Lily claimed, revealing that the next thing she knew was that Noth “was having sex with me from the back in a chair.”

“We were in front of a mirror. I was kind of crying as it happened. … I went to the bathroom and put on my skirt. I was feeling awful. Totally violated. All of my dreams with this star I loved for years were gone.”

Noth Denies Allegations of Sexual Assault

According to Deadline, Noth's representation at A3 Artists Agency has dropped him. The move came shortly after a third victim accused the actor of assaulting her while working as a hostess and lounge singer at New York's Da Marino restaurant in 2010. (She was 18 and Noth was 55 at the time of the alleged incident.)

In terms of how the CBS series replaces Bishop, there are a few options — a recast appears to be a possibility given how early in the series' run it is. Another possibility is that they take an entirely different path and introduce a completely new character.

Because Noth was not the major character in the series, they could go in a lot of various paths with the story from here on out without affecting McCall's journey.