‘SATC’ Stars and More Celebs Who Shut Down Ageist Criticism About ‘And Just Like That’: Sarah Jessica Parker, Andy Cohen and More

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'SATC' Stars and More Celebs Who Shut Down Ageist Criticism About 'And Just Like That': Sarah Jessica Parker, Andy Cohen and More

Clapping back. More than 10 years after Sex and the City originally wrapped up on HBO, the And Just Like That revival was announced as a way to explore the main characters in the present day. The series follows Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Charlotte York (Kristin Davis) and Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) as they figure out the next chapter of their lives in their 50s. Ahead of the show's debut in December 2021, Parker called out the online hate that revolved around her appearance. "Especially on social media. Everyone has something to say. ‘She has too many wrinkles, she doesn’t have enough wrinkles,’" she explained during an interview with Vogue in November 2021. "It almost feels as if people don’t want us to be perfectly OK with where we are, as if they almost enjoy us being pained by who we are today, whether we choose to age naturally and not look perfect, or whether you do something if that makes you feel better," she continued. "I know what I look like. I have no choice. What am I going to do about it? Stop aging? Disappear?” The same conversations were happening on the HBO Max series when Miranda defends her updated look after Charlotte comments that "the gray [hair] ages you." In response, the TV lawyer says, "No, you think the gray ages you, because if we are friends and I am this age, you can't be whatever age you're pretending to be." [jwplayer b2Bh6Agl-zhNYySv2] The character's real-life counterpart praised the decision to have Miranda not return to her signature red hair. “Michael Patrick King, who is our chief writer and director, he was like, ‘You know a lot of women during the pandemic, they couldn’t get out to the beauty parlor, and they decided to go gray and then they decided that they liked it. So, if it was going be one of the women, we think it would be Miranda,'" Nixon recalled during an episode of Live With Kelly and Ryan in December 2021. Even though not every viewer was on board with the vision for And Just Like That, Parker previously shared what she missed most about playing Carrie. "I love the friendships. I love the time that they have for their friendships. I don’t really [have that]. Most people don’t have time to meet that frequently for brunch or lunch. So, I’m envious," the fashion designer exclusively told Us Weekly in December 2021. "I wish I could somehow integrate that into my life, but I think the thing that has always touched me the most is our relationships and how necessary they are — and that is certainly true in my life as well." Scroll down to see every response to the ageist And Just Like That criticism: [podcast_block]

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Sarah Jessica Parker

“There’s so much misogynist chatter in response to us that would never. Happen. About. A. Man,” Parker told Vogue in November 2021 about the response to the And Just Like That revival. “‘Gray hair gray hair gray hair. Does she have gray hair?’ I’m sitting with Andy Cohen, and he has a full head of gray hair, and he’s exquisite. Why is it OK for him? I don’t know what to tell you people!"

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Andy Cohen

The longtime Bravo host addressed his friend Parker's comments about how they are viewed differently as they age together.

“She’s sitting next to me ... and all the articles are, ‘Sarah Jessica Parker, she’s going gray, she looks old,’” Cohen shared during an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show in November 2021, agreeing that the Hocus Pocus actress was "so right" about the statements coming from a “misogynistic" place.

The producer explained that some people "missed the mark" when it came to understanding the meaning behind the “revolutionary” revival.

“From what I understand, it’s going to show the women living vibrantly in their 50s and at this stage in their lives,” he added. “She’s not going to be running around in a tutu and high heels, they are going to be living in their 50s as beautiful women. I think it’s going to be a wonderful message.”

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Drew Barrymore

The 50 First Dates star agreed with Cohen, saying, "I grew up in an industry that was so about looks. If I had heard one more person talk about how after 30 it's over, I was just, like, 'This is so toxic.' ... I hate it. I'm not going to live my life according to these screwed up values."

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Kristin Davis

Davis recalled how difficult it was to have her appearance discussed during and after the original of SATC.

“Everyone wants to comment, pro or nay or whatever on our hair and our faces and our this and our that,” the Emmy nominee said during an interview with The Sunday Times Style Magazine in December 2021. “The level of intensity of it was a shock.”

Davis noted that seeing these negative comments makes her "feel angry all the time" even though she tries to avoid it, adding, "I don’t look at it, I just know it’s there.”

During an interview with NewBeauty, Davis, who is the mother of daughter Gemma and son Wilson, spoke out about how “stressful” it is to be “compared to your much, much, much younger self.”

"If I was from a regular life, I would feel fine; I would feel great! I'm healthy, I'm strong, I've got this little 3-year-old son, and I carry him around and it's all good—but, no, I'm on television, where every bit of my physical being is analyzed," the actress said in January 2022. "That part was always very stressful and difficult for me, because, as much as I can look back on my life and think, 'Oh, I looked great then,' you never think that at the time. I guess no one does."

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Michael Patrick King

“When we announced And Just Like That, there were a lot of positive reactions, but one bitchy response online was people sharing pictures of the Golden Girls. And I was like, ‘Wow, so it’s either you’re 35, or you’re retired and living in Florida,” the showrunner told Vogue in November 2021. “There’s a missing chapter here.”

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Cynthia Nixon

During a November 2021 interview with Vogue, Nixon praised And Just Like That for not trying to change the direction of the original series, saying, “I like that we’re not trying to youthify the show. We’re not including, like, a 21-year-old niece.”