Sarah Jessica Parker isn’t unfamiliar with the comments made about her on social media, and she’s ready to respond to those who want to discuss her age and looks.
Parker is Vogue’s December 2021 cover star and in her interview with the magazine, she discussed some of the negative commentary that surfaced on social media following the announcement of the "Sex and the City" sequel series, "And Just Like That…," which was centered around the ages of the three leading women. The series will follow Carrie Bradshaw (Parker), Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte York (Kristin Davis) as they navigate life and love in New York City in their 50s.
"There’s so much misogynist chatter in response to us that would never. Happen. About. A. Man," Parker said. "'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 okay for him? I don’t know what to tell you people."
The actor said she especially has a hard time grappling with the commentary on social media because "everyone has something to say," specifically citing the dichotomy of being criticized for having too many wrinkles - or for not having any at all.
"It almost feels as if people don’t want us to be perfectly okay 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 said. "I know what I look like. I have no choice. What am I going to do about it? Stop aging? Disappear?"
Parker, 56, also took a moment to reflect on her decadeslong friendship with the late Willie Garson, who passed away in September at 67 from pancreatic cancer. Parker described the loss of her on-screen and off-screen best friend "as if a scoop has been taken out of me," explaining that she never expects the wound to fully heal.
"In time, my body will grow accustomed to this new architecture, but now I feel truly blue," she said. "It’s such a loss, and I think about how I’ll miss the joy of (our relationship). I think about Willie and the show and how much we laughed."
Despite everything that had transpired and the loss she suffered, Parker concluded, "There’s so much good in the world, and we were all so lucky to be together doing something we loved."
At the time of Garson’s death, Parker penned an emotional tribute to her late friend, describing his absence as "a crater."
Despite Parker’s many roles across film and television since the end of the show, none have entered the pop culture zeitgeist like Carrie Bradshaw. The glamorous New York City writer and fashionista has become iconic over the years as "Sex and the City" transformed into a television staple even after going off the air in 2004.
In June, Parker revisited the steps of the Carrie’s apartment, which were filmed outside of a brownstone on Perry Street in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan. Over 20 years since the show came out and ahead of the "And Just Like That…" premiere, a look-alike version of Carrie’s Upper East Side apartment is available to rent on Airbnb. The unit is fully stocked with some of the character’s staples, including a closet that includes her endless shoe collection and the tulle tutu skirt, items which Parker has held onto all these years.
"I had all of the original stuff in my own storage," Parker told Vogue. "Furniture, clothes, everything, packed according to season and episode and scene. I kept every single solitary thing."
Though Parker teased a potential reboot (or as she called it, a "revisit) in 2019 in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, she said it was the pandemic that started to put everything in motion. She said she was speaking with Michael Patrick King, a director and writer for the original show and subsequent film adaptations, about doing a behind-the-scenes podcast about the making of the show.
"And we spoke about what we were missing in the pandemic: joy, community, the experience of being together," she recalled of their conversation. "The world of Carrie and her friends has always been about coming home, and I felt like we needed that right now."
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