Following the news that Chris Noth had allegedly sexually assaulted two women, Peloton has taken down its viral advertisement.
Peloton released a statement claiming they have taken down the video and take the allegations seriously.
“Every single sexual assault accusation must be taken seriously,” the company said in a statement. “We were unaware of these allegations when we featured Chris Noth in our response to HBO’s reboot of the show. As we seek to learn more, we have stopped promoting this video and archived related social posts.”
The ad featured Noth and Peloton instructor Jess King flirting on a couch talking about taking another ride on the companies’ bikes. It finishes with a voiceover by actor Ryan Reynolds where he quickly goes through the health benefits of cycling, such as reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, and ends simply with “he’s alive.”
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The viral ad was made in reference to the premiere episode of “And Just Like That,” where Noth’s character John James “Mr. Big” Preston dies from a heart attack following his 1,000th at-home Peloton ride.
On Thursday, two women accused Noth of sexual assault, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The women, only known as the pseudonyms Zoe and Lily, approached the outlet at separate times and did not know each other before.
Zoe stated her incident with Noth occurred in Los Angeles in 2004 when she was 22, while Lily’s was in New York City in 2015 when she was 25.
In response to the accusations, the actor released a statement to THR.
“The accusations against me made by individuals I met years, even decades, ago are categorically false. These stories could’ve been from 30 years ago or 30 days ago — no always means no — that is a line I did not cross,” Noth said in the statement. “The encounters were consensual. It’s difficult not to question the timing of these stories coming out. I don’t know for certain why they are surfacing now, but I do know this: I did not assault these women.”
Read the full story on The Hollywood Reporter.