Sarah Jessica Parker Addresses the Absence of 'The Actress That Played the Role' of Samantha on WWHL

Television By TooFab Staff |
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Also absent was Kim Cattrall's name.

Sarah Jessica Parker has addressed Kim Cattrall's absence from "And Just Like That..." — or as she referred to her: "the actress that played the role."

On Monday night's "Watch What Happens Live", host Andy Cohen broached the subject very diplomatically, and in turn was treated to a very diplomatic answer.

"I loved how the show handled Samantha's absence, and every time a text came though I felt like the heart of Samantha came through — she had a lot of heart," Cohen gushed. "How did you feel in the end about how you all handled that? You kept her alive."

"Yeah, well, I think... I can take no credit to how we handled it, except that I got to convey the messages since they're not spoken," SJP began. "But it is Michael Patrick King who is our showrunner and our head writer, and his extraordinary group of amazingly talented writers."

"It was an idea because Samantha is not gone," she continued. "The actress that played the role is no longer playing that role, but... people aren't absent from you life when you don't want them to be, you know?"

She credited King with handling Samantha's absence "with grace and dignity and respect, and love and affection for that character."

"I thought it mimicked many friendships that, you know, challenge each other, and struggle, and want to remain connected in a way, because it's too painful," she added.

Andy, who normally has no qualms about pressing guests on awkward subjects, immediately moved on.

In the "Sex and the City" reboot, Samantha Jones is only heard from via text message; fans learned in the opening episode that she moved to London and cut ties with the group, upset that she had been dropped as publicist for Carrie's Bradshaw's book.

In real life, the upset and tie cutting elements remain, but the well-publicized fallout between the actresses is not over a book deal. Cattrall has made no secret of her disdain for her former co-star and how she disliked working with her, while Parker has always maintained that there was never a feud.

In the final episode of season one of "And Just Like That" that aired earlier this month, Carrie and Samantha appear to bury the hatchet and agree to meet up for a drink... again via text.

That reunion happening on screen in season 2 looks, for the moment, very very unlikely.