Sara Ramirez reiterates that Che Diaz is a fictional character
"I am not the fictional characters I have played, nor am I responsible for the things that are written for them to say," the And Just Like That... actor wrote
Che Diaz may, um, not be so gifted in the comedy department, but Sara Ramirez would like to remind everyone that they really are in on the joke in real life—despite a June profile in The Cut that they felt implies otherwise. They also don’t appreciate the conflations of their divisive And Just Like That… character and real-life persona.
Ramirez, who plays Carrie’s one-time coworker and Miranda’s one-time love interest in the new series, reiterated this feeling in a searing Instagram post directed at The Hack Job—presumably The Cut, although the specific profile or writer is never named—from location “Your Mom’s House” (pretty funny). “I am not the fictional characters I have played, nor am I responsible for the things that are written for them to say. I am a human being, an artist, an actor,” they wrote. “[W]e 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.”
Of the profile in question, they also wrote: “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.”
This is not the first time Ramirez has had to field errant criticism directed at her character. “I don’t recognize myself in Che,” Ramirez told The New York Times February of last year. “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,” they continued. “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.”