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Three Killed in Kyiv Outside Locked Bomb Shelter; Families Evacuating Belgorod after Shelling; Debt Ceiling Deal Heads to Senate; Ethiopian Airlines Sued for Alleged Discrimination; Kim Cattrall Films Cameo for "Sex and the City" Reboot. Aired 10-10:40a ET
Aired June 01, 2023 - 10:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eleni Giokos, live from Dubai and this is CONNECT THE WORLD. Coming up at this hour, a
tragic mistake in Kyiv led to three deaths as Russian missiles fell the bomb shelter where they tried to hide was locked.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy is making the case for Ukraine's membership into both NATO and the E.U. at a European summit in Moldova.
CNN exclusive: audio of Donald Trump that undermines what he said about classified documents he kept after leaving office.
And a night of defeat for Jose Mourinho.
What will the manager of Roma do next?
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GIOKOS: We begin in Ukraine's capital, where the mayor of Kyiv is vowing to make sure that bomb shelters are open at night for those who need them.
That's after three people died during a Russian missile attack overnight, when they could not get into a locked shelter.
Ukraine's military said it shot down all 10 missiles fired at Kyiv, in the latest round of strikes. But falling debris killed three victims, including
a 9 year old girl and her mother. I want to bring in CNN international correspondent Sam Kiley, who is in Eastern Ukraine for us.
Tragically, Sam, tragically, the inability to enter a shelter caused the death of three people, including a little girl.
How did this happen?
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Eleni, it is an extraordinary event, because the citizens of Kyiv have gotten so used to
coming under air attack that one of the problems for the local administration is to get people to go into those bomb shelters or to take
shelter in metro stations or the cellars of their homes.
People just ignore the sirens or very often ignore the sirens. But on this occasion, it would appear that a significant number of civilians gathered
at the doors of this bomb shelter in Kyiv, banged on the doors, thought that there may be other points of entry, because they couldn't believe that
it was not possible to get into a bomb shelter.
And then tragically, a missile was destroyed in the sky above them. The descending debris killed three people and injured others. An extraordinary
series of catastrophic moments of bad luck.
Arguably perhaps nobody would've been hurt had that bomb shelter been open. Now it's part of an official investigation by Ukrainian authorities. These
are bomb shelters that have been around and in fact were built during the Cold War as a defensive measure against a NATO attack.
Ironically, of course, it is Russia that is attacking Ukraine at a time when Ukraine is discussing joining NATO as a consequence of the Russian
invasion.
GIOKOS: It is an absolutely tragic story because Ukraine said that it intercepted all 10 missiles. But look, we have also seen, as you say, an
increase in the number of attacks inside of, Russia.
What more do we know about the group behind the attacks?
I guess the question is, are we looking at the beginning of the counteroffensive?
KILEY: Well, the new phase, what is absolutely no doubt, is that what we haven't seen before is outright attacks on Ukrainian (sic) territory,
coming from Ukrainian territory. So about a week ago we saw Russians who are dissident Russians, part of the Ukrainian armed forces, crossing into
Russian territory, ostensibly under their own steam.
But take that with a pinch of salt -- and conducting military operations inside Russia that the Ukrainian intelligence said were very valuable. They
went about eight kilometers, five miles in the territory.
Those two same groups claim they crossed the borders again. The Russians are claiming they have repelled them. We don't have any independent
corroboration yet one way or the other.
But a lot of this is concurrent now with ongoing shelling of Russian villages from Ukrainian territory, attributed obviously by the Russians to
the Ukrainians, causing eight injuries, according to the governor of Belgorod province and the necessity to evacuate civilians --
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KILEY: -- from a number of border villages inside Ukraine. Now of course, Ukrainians have signaled, adviser to the president, saying yesterday, that
we could expect to see more of these operations and, indeed, the quote- unquote "mysterious" drone strikes that have hit Moscow and Krasnodar oil refineries.
This is the new phase in the war, that Ukrainians are prosecuting. There's no doubt about that.
GIOKOS: All right. Sam Kiley, thank you so much.
As the war in Ukraine continues, so, too, are its efforts to join NATO. The head of the bloc is ruling Ukraine's part in NATO's future as he meets with
foreign ministers in Oslo. At least one member needs some more convincing, as the German foreign minister signals skepticism that Ukraine should be
allowed to join the bloc while at war.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy joining a summit in Moldova says the time is now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Ukraine is ready to be in NATO. We are waiting when NATO will be ready to host and to have Ukraine. And I
think security guarantees are very important not only for Ukraine but for our neighbors in Moldova because of the Russia and of the aggression in
Ukraine and potential aggression for other parts of Europe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: Clare Sebastian is following these developments from London.
Germany very hesitant to allow a country currently in a war to join NATO. That's the reality. It's interesting that Jens Stoltenberg says Ukraine
will at some point be joining NATO but we don't know when.
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is about timing and I think in NATO as a whole, probably a majority of countries would favor Ukraine
eventually joining the alliance -- the operative word being eventually.
It has been clear all along that they couldn't join while at war with Russia because of the way it's structured. Article 5 would NATO allies
would have to come to Ukraine's defense and then we would have NATO at war with Russia.
The Ukrainian foreign minister, according to his spokesperson, saying that its accession to NATO shouldn't even be discussed at the summit in Vilnius.
They have been more opposed than others.
But I think the alliance is looking at this in the long term. The frustration for Ukraine is that has been the situation for 15 years.
Secretary Blinken saying we stand by the Bucharest commitment. That was made in 2008.
So he wants an interim step to bring home to his people, security guarantees, you heard him say, an clear invitation from NATO and the same
from the E.U. He wants a clear path to membership there, essentially saying, we are paying with our blood for European values and freedom in
Ukraine.
If we can't get these concrete decisions, then what hope for other countries?
GIOKOS: Clare, Sebastian thank you so much.
One vote down with one more to go. The deal to raise the U.S. debt limit heads to the Senate now after passing in the House of Representatives. It
is not clear when the Senate will vote and there are only days left to avoid a potentially catastrophic default.
But if the deal can get a second thumbs up on Capitol Hill soon, President Biden will sign it into law. CNN's Arlette Saenz is in Washington.
Great to have you on. One step closer to avoiding default now. Off to the. Senate
What do we know about voting on amendments that have been mentioned?
And what kind of delays we could see because of that?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Eleni, these lawmakers are really racing against the clock, as they are trying to get this legislation passed before
that June 5th deadline.
Last, night the House voted to advance the legislation to pass it, President Biden praising that, saying it was a bipartisan agreement. And he
also urged to the Senate to act quickly.
One of his first phone calls after the bill was passed was to Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, who will now bring this bill up for a vote
and debate on the Senate floor. Both Schumer and the Senate minority leader both say they want to see the vote take place before the weekend, before
the lawmakers are set to head home for the weekend.
But there is even a possibility it could come up today. But then there is the issue of amendments and there have been several senators who say they
want to introduce amendments and have votes on amendments.
Also hold those votes on those amendments. That really could potentially delay the process. There's also the issue that if any one of these
amendments did pass --
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SAENZ: -- that bill would have to go back to the House again. And this is all stuff that Senate leadership will have to work out to see how many
amendments they're going to bring up for a vote and whether there could be any agreement to speed up some of that timetable.
But right now, everyone has that Monday, June 5th, circled on their calendars, which is the day the Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said
the U.S. could run out of cash to pay its bills. Senators in the coming days are hoping to work in a quick fashion in order to get that legislation
passed. They're trying to avert default as that June 5th deadline looms.
GIOKOS: Sounds like it is not over yet. We'll wait and see over the next couple of days. Great to have you on, thank. You
Now to our exclusive reporting on the investigation into Donald Trump and his handling of classified information. Multiple sources tell CNN that
federal prosecutors have recording of the former U.S. president acknowledging that he kept a classified Pentagon document after he left
office and suggesting that he would like to share the information.
The recording would poke holes in Trump's defense in the case. CNN's Katelyn Polantz joins us now from Washington.
What else do we know about this recording and how it could complicate and affect the case?
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: As we were reporting the story and confirming that this audiotape exists and it is in
the Justice Department's hands, the prosecutor, Jack Smith, the special counsel here in the U.S., we were told over and over again that this is an
important development for the prosecution.
It is a piece of evidence that is so clear, in that it shows a couple things. One Donald, Trump after he leaves the presidency, is in a room with
people without security clearance as people working on a book, an autobiography that his former chief of staff was writing, as well as
communication aides of him, people who did not have the security clearances that would allow them access to secret and national security documents.
He is talking to them about a secretive national security document, a plan from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, so the head of the U.S.
military, where that plan indicated that the Pentagon would be prepared to bomb Iran if the president so choose.
And Trump is not only talking about this plan, he is referring to a document as if he is holding. On the audio recording, we are told that he
is rustling a paper around, seemingly this paper that he is describing to these people or referring to.
In addition to that, he appears, on this audio recording, to be acknowledging the limitations that he has, as the next president, that he
doesn't have the ability to share this document more widely, that he did not declassify. It
And it is the sort of secretive information from the U.S. government that should not be in the hands of someone who is not in a secured facility and
who no longer is serving in that role and has some sort of ability to do it.
GIOKOS: Katelyn Polantz, thank you so much for that great reporting.
A highly decorated veteran of Australia's Special Forces squaring off in court against three newspapers. He sued them over claims he may have
committed war crimes. We'll tell you how a judge ruled in the case.
Plus, ethnic Muslims in China defiantly defend their mosque from partial demolition by the government. Coming up, why many fear a harsh crackdown is
imminent.
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GIOKOS: A stunning end to a landmark court case in Australia. One of the country's most decorated soldiers has lost a multimillion defamation
lawsuit against three newspapers.
The papers accuse Ben Roberts-Smith of committing war crimes in Afghanistan, including the killing of unarmed prisoners. Angus Watson has
more on the decision.
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ANGUS WATSON, CNN PRODUCER: This was one of the biggest defamation cases in Australian history.
Over 100 days of testimony resulting in a massive win for three journalists and their newspapers, who filed these intensely detailed stories back in
2018, alleging that Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia's most decorated soldier, had committed war crimes while serving in Afghanistan between 2009 and
2012.
Roberts-Smith has always denied those and brought these defamation proceedings against the newspapers today. He has lost. This was not a
criminal proceeding. This was a defamation trial. But it served as a proxy for a war crimes hearing.
This was the first time the war crimes allegations had been tested by an Australian court and most egregious of those allegations were upheld. Both
concluded that Ben Roberts-Smith killed an Afghan non-combatant with a prosthetic leg and that Ben Roberts-Smith kicked an elderly Afghan man off
a cliff and then ordered Australian soldiers to shoot him.
Some of those that served with him in Afghanistan testified against him in this case. Some of the Afghan civilians which came into contact with
Australian soldiers, some 10 years ago, beamed in to Australia's federal court to tell their side of the story.
Ultimately, this was a proceeding brought by Ben Roberts-Smith to defend his public standing. This is what one of the journalists have to say about
Ben Roberts-Smith.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would like Ben Roberts-Smith to reflect on the pain that he has brought lots (INAUDIBLE) who have stood up in public and told
the truth about his conduct. They were mocked and belittled in court. They were bullied, they were intimidated. Some had letters sent them,
threatening letter.
I would like Ben Roberts-Smith to reflect on the people he murdered, the man he kicked off a cliff, the Afghan villagers. That's what I think Ben
Roberts-Smith should reflect on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
A. WATSON: This case will have ongoing ramifications for the Australian military and the perception of the military here by the public. It will
have ramifications for Australia's legacy in Afghanistan, which is, of course, now controlled by the Taliban that they were fighting against.
In 2020, the Australian military announced the findings of its own investigations into alleged killings of non-combatants by Australians in
the country; 39 Afghan non combatants were deemed to have been murdered by Australian soldiers.
One of those soldiers has been charged with murder. The problem for Ben Roberts-Smith now is the chance that he might also face criminal charges
relating to his time in Afghanistan. That is certainly a possibility now -- Angus Watson, CNN, Sydney, Australia.
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GIOKOS (voice-over): Let's get you up to speed on some other stories that are on our radar right now.
Doctors in Sudan say at least 17 people were killed and 106 injured in a shelling incident at a local market as clashes continue in the capital,
Khartoum. The Sudanese military says it's suspending talks with the rival Rapid Support Forces, accusing them of violating the cease-fire.
A human rights group is suing Ethiopian Airlines for allegedly blocking some ethnic Tigrayans from travel, a claim that the airline calls false.
Now (INAUDIBLE) accuses the state owned airline --
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GIOKOS (voice-over): -- of violating the country's constitution by prohibiting some passengers from flying from the Tigray region to the
country's capital. A hearing on the case is expected early this month.
North Korea is vowing to have a new spy satellite into orbit soon, despite a first failed try. The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un defended
Wednesday's attempt, saying that they will never remain an onlooker.
A South Korean lawmaker says his country's intelligence agency believes the launch failed partly because North Korea rushed preparations and tried to
change the flight path.
GIOKOS: Fears are growing of another religious crackdown in southern China. An ethnic Muslim minority has been defying government attempts to
demolish the dome and minarets of its mosque. They say they are the latest victims of Beijing's campaign to remove religious symbols from places of
worship. CNN's Ivan Watson has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A rare confrontation between law enforcement and the faithful. Chinese Muslims
clash with police outside a mosque in Southwestern China.
For two days last weekend, residents of the village of Najiaying tried to protect their mosque from a Chinese government reconstruction plan.
"They want to demolish the roof of our mosque," an emotional local protester tells CNN, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"This is our last bit of dignity," the protester says.
"It's like someone going to your house and demolishing it."
CNN reached out to Chinese authorities for comment but the only official acknowledgment of the incident comes from this local government statement,
urging protesters to turn themselves in after "disrupting social order" and causing "severe adverse impact."
I. WATSON: Is it safe to be a Muslim in China today?
MA JU, IMAM AND HUI MUSLIM ACTIVIST: Not safe.
I. WATSON (voice-over): Ma Ju is an imam and activist from the Hui Muslim ethnic minority, living in exile in the U.S.
MA (through translator): No Muslim is safe in China. My people, the Hui people, everyone is trembling, scared and living in fear.
I. WATSON (voice-over): He claims the Chinese government has targeted hundreds of Hui mosques across the country, demolishing their Arabic-
inspired domes and minarets and replacing them with Chinese-style architecture.
CNN has independently verified the before-and-after images of several of these cases. Part of Chinese leader Xi Jinping's policy of Sinicization,
instructing religions to basically look more Chinese.
JAMES LEIBOLD, PROFESSOR OF CHINA STUDIES, LA TROBE UNIVERSITY: The logic of what China is trying to do is about social reentering. It's by remolding
people.
I. WATSON (voice-over): Academics and activists say, since Xi came to power, there have been crackdowns on expressions of religious, ethnic and
linguistic identity.
MA (through translator): Xi Jinping's policies are aimed at all socially organized groups, including Christians, Buddhists and even some civil
organizations including LGBTQ.
I. WATSON (voice-over): CNN extensively reported on the detention of more than a million ethnic Uyghurs and other minorities in China's Xinjiang
region in internment camps.
And CNN reported on clashes around churches in Eastern China, where authorities chopped the crosses off the top of Christian places of worship.
Those scenes in 2015, remarkably similar to the images of protesters trying to protect their mosque today in Najiaying.
"Today they'll change our mosques. Tomorrow, they'll ban us from going to mosques," the local protester tells CNN.
"We know, because that's what they did to the Uyghurs in Xinjiang."
A last-ditch effort to protect deeply personal concepts of faith and identity from being defined by the Chinese state -- Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong
Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: Canadian officials are warning residents against violating a ban of burning anything open in the Nova Scotia region. They announced on
Wednesday, that anyone who does so could be fined more than $18,000.
Fourteen wildfires in the province destroying hundreds of buildings and sent huge plumes of smoke into the air. Authorities say the hefty fine and
province wide burn ban are meant to convey the seriousness of the situation.
Officials say conditions are just too volatile. The forests are dry and the region has been struggling with record-breaking heat. Firefighters from New
York and New Hampshire are traveling to help.
Coming up, the war in Ukraine is pushing closer to Russia (INAUDIBLE) including a drone that sparked a oil refinery fire.
And a strange twist in the boat that capsized on an Italian lake. All passengers on board had links to intelligence and defense agencies. We'll
be back.
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GIOKOS (voice-over): Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos and this is CONNECT THE WORLD. Here are headlines this hour
U.S. lawmakers in the House of Representatives have passed a bipartisan bill to raise the debt ceiling so that the federal government can go on
paying its bills. The deal is still requiring Senate approval before President Biden signs it into law.
Ukrainian officials are investigating why a bomb shelter in Kyiv was locked overnight while air raid sirens sounded. Three people including a 9 year
old girl were killed by debris of a missile shot down by Ukraine. They were apparently unable to get into a closed shelter.
Russia says it is evacuating more civilians from the Belgorod region. Some 300 children have already left the area (INAUDIBLE) homes and schools
damaged in shelling that was blamed on Ukraine.
Russians are seeing more attacks inside their country and in occupied Ukraine, the latest incidents including a drone strike on Moscow, which the
Kremlin blamed on Ukraine and denied by Kyiv. CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports on mixed signals about the attacks from Ukraine's allies.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While the Ukrainians continue to deny being directly involved in the drone
attack on Moscow, a senior adviser to Ukraine's presidency is warning the Russians the war is coming to them.
MYKHAILO PODOLYAK, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER (through translator): All this will increase in scale. There will be an increase in the number of
manifestations of the war on the territory of the Russian Federation.
PLEITGEN: And Russia is not only feeling the heat around Moscow, the Ukrainians appear to be ramping up the pressure in the vast border regions
between the two countries. Local authorities in the Belgrade area say heavy shelling damaged residential and official buildings their wounding several
people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It was very scary several baths at once. This has not happened before.
PLEITGEN: Further south in the Krasnodar region, the Russians say two oil refineries were targeted by drones. The surveillance camera video seeming
to show an explosion followed by a large fire at one of the facilities.
And to the north, authorities in the Bryansk area say they repelled a massive drone attack. While the Ukrainians believe the Russians are so
nervous they blew up a road in the border region nearby to try and stop any possible Ukrainian advances. The U.S. says it doesn't condone attacks on
Russian territory.
ADM. JOHN KIRBY (RET.), COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: We have maintained our concerns about
attacks on Russian soil.
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KIRBY: But we have been nothing but generous and fully committed to making sure that Ukraine can defend itself.
PLEITGEN: But some of the U.S.'s allies are less concerned.
JAMES CLEVERLY, U.K. FOREIGN SECRETARY: Ukraine does have the legitimate right to defend itself. But it does also have the right to project force
beyond its borders to undermine Russia's ability to project force into Ukraine itself.
PLEITGEN: Those remarks caused major outrage on Kremlin controlled TV, as Russia security forces seem unable to prevent cross border raids -- Fred
Pleitgen, CNN, Kyiv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: Now to a mystery on an Italian lake where four people are dead after a boat capsized on Sunday. Officials say all 21 passengers had
current or former links to Italian and Israeli intelligence defense agencies.
And the partner of the boat's captain was Russian. Barbie Nadeau is following the story for us from Rome.
Great to have you on.
What do we know about the survivors and the details of who they are and what they wanted?
BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is a mystery. We may never know what those 21 service agents and former service agents were actually doing
on the lake because they are not under investigation.
The captain, whose Russian girlfriend died in the mishap, is under investigation for culpable manslaughter. We took a closer look at the whole
situation.
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NADEAU (voice-over): A peaceful day on a picturesque Italian lake turns deadly. A deadly accident turns mysterious. Four people were killed
including two Italians intelligence officers and a retired Israeli defense official when a chartered house boat sank in a sudden storm on Lake
Maggiore Sunday.
The captain said a waterspout appeared in a sudden storm. The Italian captain's Russian girlfriend also died. The Goduria boat was listed on a
boat chartering website for 2,000 euros a day with an advertises maximum capacity of 15 passengers.
But on the fatal Sunday, there were 21 passengers plus two crew members on board.
All passengers, in some way tied to Italian and Israeli intelligence work, the prosecutor's office said.
The survivors said they were celebrating a birthday. Italians Tiziana Barnobi and Claudio Alonzi were active secret service agents, the Italian
government confirmed.
The Israeli citizen, Erez Shimoni, was retired. Israel's prime minister's office called him a dear friend to the country's security forces.
The Italian prosecutors said passengers are not under investigation and would not comment on what they might have been doing on the boat.
The captain is under investigation for culpable manslaughter. Efforts to salvage the boat are being closely watched by Italian security officials
and should provide more clues to the mysterious Sunday outing turned deadly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NADEAU: It is a tragedy but very much an ongoing mystery here. Speculation about what they were doing out on the lake. The boat that they have been
able to bring up, bring to shore and take a closer look.
But I don't think the general public will ever know exactly what those agents were doing on that boat on that day in Italy.
GIOKOS: Absolutely fascinating. Barbie Nadeau, thank you very much.
U.S. border agents say they have seized almost three tons of methamphetamine being smuggled inside of a truck full of kale (ph) from
Mexico. The street value is estimated at $38 million. The drugs were discovered during a routine inspection of a tractor trailer at a border
crossing in California last weekend.
The driver was detained and handed over to the Department of Homeland Security for further investigation.
We are going to a short break. But still to come, that is not a happy face. Jose Mourinho takes Roma's defeat to heart, fuming, as you can see at the
unfairness of it. All
And could you ever forget the sassy Samantha Jones from "Sex and the City"?
Don't worry. She's making a comeback sooner than you think. That is all coming up right after the break.
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(VIDEO CLIP, "SEX AND THE CITY")
GIOKOS: And just like that, she is back, (INAUDIBLE) dressed and without a witty repartee.
(VIDEO CLIP, "SEX AND THE CITY")
GIOKOS: Kim Cattrall, returning to her signature role, Samantha Jones, the sexually voracious publicist from "Sex and the City." She plays through six
seasons and two movies but famously declined to appear in the first season of the reboot series, "And Just Like That..." but now she seems to have
changed her mind.
What is behind this change of heart?
We have CNN's Chloe Melas, who is, I am sure, a fan like I am. I've watched so much of the show. But fascinating.
I was also really following a lot of the tension that had emerged between Kim and also Sarah Jessica Parker and I thought that she had closed this
chapter on her life. But she is back.
So why?
What is the reason?
CHLOE MELAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Obviously this is a big moment for "Sex and the City" fans. And like you point out, she infamously
famously was not part of the first season of the reboot, "And Just Like That..." on our sister network, Max.
So this news is coming when we are just a few weeks away from the second season premiering.
And this is one of the best kept secrets in Hollywood. It turns out that Kim Cattrall taped one scene back in March in New York City, that her name
was not on the call sheet, that she did not interact with other members of the cast, at least not the main women of the show and that she was in, she
was out.
We don't know why, we don't know what she got paid, we don't know what moved the needle for her other than fans have been wanting her. Back but
like you said, she did close that chapter.
She very publicly did not get along with Sarah Jessica Parker although SJP has always handled it very gracefully. And I think that they really just
wanted to put things behind them and move on. But not Kim Cattrall.
So what moved the needle for her?
I don't know if we're ever going to, know hopefully we will get a chance to talk to her personally. I do want to read what she had told "Variety" last
year about not returning. She said it was a great wisdom to know when enough is enough. And that she didn't want to compromise what the show
meant to her.
The way forward seemed clear. It's going to be also really interesting to know what is this one scene, what is she saying, what does it pertain to? I
can't wait.
GIOKOS: Chloe, is it one scene?
So she is not back in full force.
MELAS: Correct. So fans will just have to take what they can get for right now. But who knows, perhaps it leaves the door open for other
opportunities. But we've not heard from Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis or Sarah Jessica Parker. On their. Thoughts
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MELAS: But again this was done back in March and we are just a few weeks away from the second season. And obviously news like this comes before a
show premieres. Obviously to drum up ratings and interest and get people to watch.
But she was the one that got away and that many people wanted to return and she is back just like that. We'll see how it affects the storyline, too.
GIOKOS: And here I thought that the gang was officially back. I was mistaken. Chloe Melas, always good to have you on. Thank you so very much.
MELAS: Of course.
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