Sara Ramirez responds to the criticism over And Just Like That's Che Diaz, says: "I don’t recognize myself in Che"

The New York Times

Ramirez tells The New York Times that the Sex and the City reboot writers didn't take much from their life to create Che Diaz, other them being bisexual and non-binary, their ethnic background (Mexican and Irish American) and hairdo. As for the polarizing reaction to Che Diaz among And Just Like That fans, Ramirez says: "I’m very aware of the hate that exists online, but I have to protect my own mental health and my own artistry. And that’s way more important to me because I’m a real human being. I’m really proud of the representation that we’ve created. We have built a character who is a human being, who is imperfect, who’s complex, who is not here to be liked, who’s not here for anybody’s approval. They’re here to be themselves. I’m also not in control of the writing. I welcome the passion that folks are bringing to the table around this representation. But in real life, there are a lot of different human beings who show up to the table, speaking truth to power in myriad ways. And they all land differently with different people. And Che Diaz has their own audience that they speak to who really get a kick out of what they’re doing." How would Ramirez think Che would respond to this criticism? "Michael Patrick King and the writers’ room would probably answer that best since they wrote the character of Che Diaz," says Ramirez. "I imagine Che would have something very witty and silly and funny as a rebuttal; something that ultimately reminds everyone that they are human; something with a sprinkling of self-deprecation, because I think they know they’re a narcissist. And maybe just a little reminder that no one’s perfect."

ALSO:

• And Just Like That creator Michael Patrick King defends Che Diaz: "I said in the writing room, 'Uh, get ready. Because what’s coming is outrage about Miranda calling out her marriage,'" King tells Variety. "Whoever is in the activating of that will be an issue. But the real issue is — and I say this with love — 90% of long-term relationships are watching television, sharing dessert and talking about kids. So that’s trouble when Miranda points a finger at that relationship, which a lot of people are very happy with, and says, 'This isn’t enough.' People are going to look for who’s the villain. Che is, in my estimation, honest, dangerous, sexy, funny and warm. 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."
• Why is And Just Like That so obsessed with degrading Steve?: "What has happened to the goofy, lovable Steve Brady (David Eigenberg)?" asks Tim Teeman. "What are the And Just Like That writers and producers doing to Sex and the City’s sweetest long-standing male character, and can their mission of vicious personal destruction end right now? On behalf of Steve fans everywhere, a plea: Can they please restore Steve to his former easygoing hotness, or at the very least render him as a functioning, thinking adult, just for basic dignity’s sake? We can but hope. Conceivably, in its final first season episode later this week, the show could continue its gradual upward trajectory of the last couple of episodes and continue being bearable as opposed to the TV equivalent of having major dental surgery without anesthetic. Conceivably, Steve could stop being relentlessly diminished, infantilized, and mistreated as he has been for the last nine episodes."
• Weeks after Kim Cattrall trashed And Just Like That, Michael Patrick King says the door is no longer open for her to return
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