When Sex and the City’s much-anticipated sequel series And Just Like That finally hit our screens back in 2021, it didn’t take long for the backlash to begin.
In addition to the uproar over the shocking death of protagonist Carrie Bradshaw’s husband, Big, in the very first episode, and general displeasure at the apparent personality changes seen in other characters, many viewers were unable to hide their disdain towards a brand new character: Che Diaz.
Che, played by Sara Ramirez, is Carrie’s podcast producer, and introduces themselves as a “queer, nonbinary, Mexican Irish diva representing everyone else outside these two boring genders” in Episode 1 of the first season.
But the character didn’t land as intended, with Che being branded a “caricature” of somebody who is nonbinary and queer, and inspiring think pieces such as “Why Che Diaz from ‘And Just Like That’ is TV’s most hated character,” and “‘And Just Like That’s’ Che Diaz Is the Worst Character on TV.”
Amid the overwhelming criticism, the show’s creator and executive producer, Michael Patrick King, has doubled down on Che on more than one occasion. In fact, he claimed that fans were only reacting negatively towards them because they broke up Miranda’s marriage to Steve. After Season 1 aired, Michael told Variety: “People are going to look for who’s the villain."
“Che is, in my estimation, honest, dangerous, sexy, funny and warm,” he insisted. “What everybody else is projecting on that character has a lot to do with what they want to have happen to Miranda in the story. It has so little to do with Che."
Michael also refused to bow to the public pressure, and pointedly kept Che on the show for Season 2 in spite of the intense scrutiny.
Speaking to Vogue ahead of Season 2’s release last year, Michael said: “What’s exciting about Season 2, [Some say], ‘Che’s coming back? They should have fixed that. That was a hat that shouldn’t have been worn again.’ I was like, ‘No, Che is coming back! How dare you.’”
“I love that they thought I was just going to throw it away, like that was a mistake,” he went on, later adding: “You don’t like that they’re cocky or confident, or think they’re too woke or too bravura or performative or too in your face? Great. They’re in the show to create a ripple, and the ripple that was supposed to be in the show went even bigger.”
Michael went so far as to poke fun at disgruntled viewers with a seriously meta scene in Season 2 of AJLT that saw Che listen in on a focus group for their comedy show that reeled off all of the real-life criticism that the character had received from viewers.
But despite Michael leading the Che Diaz defense squad just a few months ago, it has been reported that Che has now been axed from the show.
Production on Season 3 of And Just Like That was delayed due to the WGA writers’ strike last year, and filming has not yet begun. However, it is expected to be back on our screens in 2025.
And when it does return, it’ll apparently be sans Che, with a source recently telling Daily Mail that Sara has been fired after being "on the chopping block since last season.”
While these claims are unverified, they come shortly after Sara suggested that they had been dropped from the show because of their vocal support for Palestine.
After sharing a series of pro-Palestine social media posts on Tuesday, Sara told their Instagram followers that “casting directors and agents are making black lists of actors and workers who post anything in support of Palestinians and Gaza to ensure they will not work again.”
“While they lift up some of their own clients who have spoken up against this genocide, they are firing and letting others who have smaller platforms go,” they continued. “While they award ‘lgbtq orgs,’ they are silent on those orgs ties to weapons manufacturers who are currently supporting the Israel military as it commits genocide on Palestinian lives that include LGBTQIA2S+ lives.”
But the insider vehemently denied that either Che’s support for Palestine or their sexuality was a factor in them being axed, stating: “Sara was not fired because they support Palestine and the cease fire.”
Referencing Sara’s And Just Like That costar Cynthia Nixon, who is openly LGBTQ+ and has also thrown her support behind Palestine in recent months, they added: “Cynthia has been incredibly vocal about her support for Palestine and for her being an open lesbian."
BuzzFeed has contacted Sara’s rep as well as representatives for HBO for comment.
Since making their And Just Like That debut three years ago, Sara has acknowledged “the hate that exists online” towards their character.
In August, they shared a scathing Instagram post that addressed some of the negative comments, writing: “I am not the fictional characters I have played, nor am I responsible for the things that are written for them to say. I am a human being, an artist, an actor. And we are living in a world that has become increasingly hostile toward anyone who dares to free themselves from the gender binary or disrupt the mainstream.”
