Sex and the City’s Cynthia Nixon responds after backlash to ‘cringe’ Miranda scenes in reboot
Cynthia Nixon is best known for playing Miranda Hobbes on Sex and the City. (Getty/Dimitrios Kambouris)
Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon has responded to the backlash over her character Miranda in reboot series And Just Like That…
Viewers weren’t particularly happy to see that outspoken corporate lawyer has transformed into a bumbling middle-aged white woman who struggles with racial interactions.
Scenes that fans found particularly painful included ones where Miranda made unfortunate comments about her Black professor’s changing hairstyles and played the “white saviour” when the professor had a run-in with security staff.
These scenes, both in premiere episodes of HBO Max’s And Just Like That… left many Sex and the City fans concerned about where things were going to go for Miranda, who in the new series is pursuing a master’s degree in human rights so she can become “an advocate for women who need one”.
https://twitter.com/LeighaChew/status/1470139760798695432
Not them having Miranda not think a black woman was a professor, talking about her braids, THEN mid gendering someone in the same breath. Don’t do my sister like that. My Miranda would NEVER 😭😭#AndJustLikeThat
— deav (@DeavensTooBuff) December 9, 2021
Old Miranda is street smart, smart and is confident af, but Miranda 2.0 became a Facebook Karen mom?!😭🤬😡#AndJustLikeThat pic.twitter.com/KJeWVeAsds— Kandy (@zourkandy) December 9, 2021
miranda is giving karen vibes with a white savior complex… #AndJustLikeThat pic.twitter.com/VF32ynqUVy— towl s2 truther (@michxnn3s) December 9, 2021
Many can agree that Miranda was previously the most relatable character in the original series, and the fact she is played by a proud queer woman who is a progressive activist only made the changes to her character all the more surprising.
Speaking to Elle magazine, Cynthia Nixon admitted she had initially been nervous to sign on for the reboot.
“I was nervous about the whole thing,” she said. “I was very reluctant at first. I said I probably wasn’t going to sign back on because I felt like there would have to be a sea change to happen to make this show – the show we would want it to be in 2021 and beyond.”
Nixon added: “As wonderful as [SATC] is, to do that show right now would be incredibly tone-deaf. So I was really worried that the transformation wouldn’t be big enough, and my fears are very allayed.”
The Miranda actor explained that she felt it was important for And Just Like That... to try and right some of the wrongs from the original series as she added: “It’s part of the reason we wanted to do the show – to go back and [undo] the things that we really got wrong.
“We had gay characters [in SATC], but a lot of the LGBT stuff in it was purely for comedic effect – and now rings harsh on the ear, I have to say.”
Kristin Davis, Sarah Jessica Parker and Cynthia Nixon filming And Just Like That… (Getty)
Nixon insisted that the script is “so delicious” despite the awkward scenes.
“We know all of the original characters have their hearts in the right place, and that they’re trying to do their best, but they’re very often slipping on a banana peel and falling down. And that’s the nature of comedy, right?”
In a further chat with press, the actress insisted that Miranda’s cringe comments shouldn’t have been a surprise because “Miranda is always sticking her foot in her mouth – getting angry and mouthing off.”
She explained: “This wasn’t a case of her mouthing off, but it was a case of her speaking before she thought or not having the right words.”
And Just Like That… was met with mixed reviews following its premiere, with some labelling its attempts to introduce issues of race as ham-fisted and tone-deaf, while others lamented over the fact the fun nature of the series seemed to be missing.
The reboot also explained the absence of Kim Cattrall’s character Samantha Jones, leaving the door open for the actress to make a return in the future.
And Just Like That… airs on Thursdays at 9pm on the Sky Comedy channel.
