Peloton Deletes Chris Noth Spoof Ad Following Sexual Assault Allegations Against Actor
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And just like that — Peloton’s ad featuring Chris Noth is gone.
The exercise equipment company over the weekend had rushed out a tongue-in-cheek ad featuring the actor, following his character’s untimely death in the first episode of HBO Max’s “And Just Like That,” a revival of “Sex and the City.” Noth’s Mr. Big, who had married Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), collapsed after a 45-minute workout on a Peloton Bike, suffering a fatal heart attack.
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On Thursday, Peloton deleted the YouTube video of the Noth ad and all social media posts referring to it. That came after news broke that two women accused Noth of sexual assault; Noth has denied the allegations, asserting that the encounters were consensual.
“Every single sexual assault accusation must be taken seriously. We were unaware of these allegations when we featured Chris Noth in our response to HBO’s reboot,” a representative for Peloton said in a statement to Variety. “As we seek to learn more, we have stopped promoting this video and archived related social posts.”
Ryan Reynolds, who spearheaded the Peloton ad through his Maximum Effort marketing agency, also deleted his Twitter and Instagram posts promoting the ad. Asked for comment, a rep for Maximum Effort referred to Peloton’s statement on the matter.
The Reynolds-produced ad, which was shot in Tribeca, featured Noth and Peloton cycling instructor Jess King — who appears in “And Just Like That” as “Allegra” — cozying up on a couch in front of a fire.
“To new beginnings,” Noth said in the spot. “To new beginnings,” King agreed, adding “You look great.” Noth responded, “Oh, I feel great. Shall we take another ride? Life’s too short not to.” Reynolds provided a voiceover at the end of the 38-second spot explaining the health benefits of cycling and concluded, “He’s alive.”
After the “And Just Like That” episode with Mr. Big’s surprising demise aired, Peloton’s stock dropped. The company went into spin control, releasing a statement from a cardiologist on its advisory board pointing to Mr. Big’s “extravagant lifestyle — including cocktails, cigars and big steaks” as the likely cause of his death rather than his use of the Peloton equipment.
Brian Steinberg contributed to this article.
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