In a new interview, actress Sarah Jessica Parker is hitting back at trolls who have been criticizing her and her Sex and the City castmates for daring to get older.
Speaking with Vogue, Parker described the ageism and misogyny that has been a part of the discourse since practically the moment And Just Like That...—HBO's revival of the iconic series—was announced earlier this year.
"What am I going to do about it? Stop aging? Disappear?" Parker said to critics of her appearance ahead of the new revival series. https://t.co/lvLWXdaqxj
— HuffPost Women (@HuffPostWomen) November 7, 2021
Parker, 56, and her costars Kristen Davis, also 56, and Cynthia Nixon, 55, were all in their early 30s when Sex and the City premiered back in 1998. A lot happens in 23 years, of course—namely aging.
It comes for all of us!
But And Just Like That... is no nostalgia trip—it picks up with the women's characters as they are today, in their mid-50s. Nevertheless, there has been no shortage of predictable online sniping about the women's appearances—and Parker has had it.
Especially since, as she told Vogue's Naomi Fry, older male stars practically never deal with this sort of criticism.
"There's so much misogynist chatter in response to us that would never. Happen. About. A. Man."
Case in point?
The viral discourse about her gray hair that ensued when she was recently photographed having a meal with Bravo host Andy Cohen who has gone quite gray himself, but didn't seem to attract the internet's ire.
"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!"
She went on to describe what feels like an unwinnable catch-22 for women of a certain age.
They get criticized "whether we choose to age naturally and not look perfect, or whether you do something that makes you feel better" like plastic surgery, for example.
Laying her exasperation bare, Parker concluded:
"I know what I look like. I have no choice. What am I going to do about it? Stop aging? Disappear?"
Parker's collaborator Michael Patrick King, who served as showrunner of the latter half of the original series and returns to that post for the reboot, added our culture seems to accept very young women or very old women and nothing in between.
"...[O]ne 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. There's a missing chapter here.'"
On Twitter, many people applauded Parker's candor about the ageism and misogyny she's faced.
Aging is a natural fact of life. Why not pick on a male actor for a change.
— Kree (@Kree14665038) November 8, 2021
society can't handle natural aging and it's truly so sad. our good sis SJP looks incredible pic.twitter.com/iSFPGmDR20
— rhett (@rhettxparker) November 8, 2021
She is as pretty today as she was in the 80's.
— livinginpuppetland (@HaywoodJabloit) November 8, 2021
This woman is entitled to age just like everyone else. I applaud her for embracing her age 💞 she is still amazing and can't wait for the show and Hocus Pocus 2 🧙♀️ pic.twitter.com/WFfHhuAFHH
— 👨🏻❤️💋👨🏽 GABE 🏳️🌈 (@gaabrielrulez) November 8, 2021
I'm not even going to read this story. As an aging woman myself, I find this kind of bias against hard to stomach. Aging men? It's a different standard that is so unfair prompting many woman to get work done, which then they are also criticized for!
— ShannonC (@doclooneyco) November 8, 2021
She is EXACTLY right & I share her take on this: "I know what I look like. I have no choice. What am I going to do about it? Stop aging? Disappear?" America is an ageist country that needs to grow up. We're ALL aging, FFS. https://t.co/K3iTVDouRN
— Lorraine Devon Wilke (@LorraineDWilke) November 8, 2021
THAT'S WHY I LOVE HER !! TELL 'EM SJP !! 👇👇 https://t.co/v7nL5QicOT
— Eve Wheeler (@EveWhee03700178) November 8, 2021
"What am I going to do about it? Stop aging? Disappear?" Parker said to critics of her appearance ahead of the new revival series.
I don't care what you think of SJP, this is spot on. Ageism is not only prevalent in our culture, it's universally accepted. https://t.co/jAsi7ZfeiI
— Ari Solomon (@VeganAri) November 7, 2021
GETTING OLDER IS A PRIVILEGE SOME DON'T GET THE CHANCE TO DO! AGING MEANS WE ARE ALIVE 💪🏻👵🏻💯 https://t.co/vPYr68PYWJ
— Jennifer Gould (@jennifergould) November 8, 2021
GETTING OLDER IS A PRIVILEGE SOME DON'T GET THE CHANCE TO DO! AGING MEANS WE ARE ALIVE 💪🏻👵🏻💯 https://t.co/vPYr68PYWJ
— Jennifer Gould (@jennifergould) November 8, 2021
And Just Like That... premieres next month on HBO Max.