Sara Ramírez slams “hack job” profile by nonbinary writer

And Just Like That… star Sara Ramírez slammed a recent profile written by a nonbinary journalist this week, describing the piece, which criticized their character, Che Diaz, as a “hack job.”

“Been thinking long and hard about how to respond to The Hack Job’s article, ‘written’ by a white gen z non-binary person who asked me serious questions but expected a comedic response I guess (?),” Ramírez wrote in a lengthy Instagram post on Tuesday.

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Don’t worry, Che Diaz is barely in it.

The piece, published by The Cut in June ahead of the Season 2 premiere of Max’s Sex and the City reboot, was written by nonbinary New York Magazine features writer Brock Colyar, and focused heavily on criticisms of Ramírez’s character, nonbinary stand-up comedian Che Diaz. As Colyar noted, the character was widely derided during the show’s first season by LGBTQ+ viewers who found them cringe-worthy and off-putting.

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Colyar compared Ramírez’s “heavy-handed” references to George Floyd, Seneca Village, and biphobia and their use of terms like “trauma, privilege, and social constructs” in their conversation to their “social-justice-warrior scold” character. Noting that the show’s writers have suggested that they are actually trolling viewers with the character, Colyar wondered whether Ramírez might not be in on the joke.

In response, Ramírez wrote on Instagram that, “I have a dry sense of humor and a voice. And I am not afraid to use either. I trust that those of you who matter, who are not petulant children, who are smart enough to catch on to what was actually going on there, can perceive it for what it is: an attempt to mock my thoughtfulness and softness, while dismissing a valid existence and real human being in favor of tv show critiques that belonged elsewhere.”

In the profile, Colyar wrote that both Ramírez and co-star Cynthia Nixon “seem to believe the reaction [to Che] has more to do with a societal discomfort around gender-nonconforming people, rather than a hope coming from actual queer people that we be portrayed as less lame.”

“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,” Ramírez wrote in their response.

They insisted that they are not the characters they play, “nor am I responsible for the things that are written for them to say.” They went on to seemingly suggest that questions about their character’s portrayal should be directed to And Just Like That… showrunner and executive producer Michael Patrick King.

“When a cis man is in charge and has ultimate control of dialogue actors say, and you have a valid problem with it, perhaps you should be interviewing him,” they wrote.

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As Vanity Fair notes, King has addressed criticisms of Che. In an interview with The Wrap, he described the reaction to the character as “judging a book by the cover.”

“I couldn’t understand it because I think Sara Ramirez is a spectacular actor,” King said. “So I was like, ‘Okay, where’s this coming from? And what do we do with it?’”

“Sometimes what you’re trying to do is not reflected, even by the people that you think you’re doing it for,” he continued. “It just says that you can’t have one experience speak for others.”