With the arrival of season three of And Just Like That, the sequel to Sex and the City, viewers have noticed the absence of Sara Ramirez as Che Diaz, a non-binary stand up comedian who was previously the love interest of Miranda (Cynthia Nixon).
The character proved polarising with fans, with some critics describing her as a caricature of queer culture and an example of how the show has clumsily tried to update itself for the reboot.
Now, star and producer Sarah Jessica Parker has said she was “shocked” to discover the character was so deeply disliked.
Parker told The Guardian newspaper this weekend:
“A friend of mine brought it up to me, and it’s like: ‘What are you talking about?’ And he said: ‘Yeah, there’s all this conversation.’
“I’ve been an actor for 50 years, and I’ve almost never paid attention to peripheral chatter. I loved working with them.”
As for her own character Carrie, on her enduring romantic rollercoaster supported by the more constant consolations of her friends and her love of fashion, Parker said she was delighted by the use of the word “antihero” to describe her.
“I prefer that to any other description of her, because it allows her to be as male as the men have been. I love The Sopranos so much, and I look at all the times [Tony] was unlawful, and we loved him. Carrie has an affair and everybody falls apart.
“An antihero, to me, is somebody that’s not behaving in conventional ways, and she hasn’t ever… A lot of people love her too, though!”
Sex and the City ran for 94 episodes between 1998 and 2004. The third season of And Just Like That is currently airing on HBO Max.
