From the moment that Sex And The City reboot And Just Like That debuted in 2021, the divisive character Che Diaz has been at the forefront of the conversation pretty much the entire time.
This has even proved to be the case while the show is on a break ahead of its third season, with numerous reports claiming that Sara Ramírez, the actor who plays Che, will not be back when And Just Like That returns.
Rumours about Sara’s exit first came after a cryptic post in which they called out the “duplicitous” entertainment industry, claiming that those who speak out in support of Palestine are being “blacklisted”. However, subsequent reports have painted a rather different picture.
So, what exactly is going on with Sara Ramírez and And Just Like That? Here’s what we know so far…
May 2021: Sara Ramírez joins Sex And The City revival And Just Like That
Sex And The City had long been criticised for focussing solely on a straight, cisgender, white perspective of life and love in New York City, so when reboot And Just Like That was announced, the team made it clear they would be trying to right some of these past wrongs.
Among the first new additions to the revival’s cast was Sara Ramírez, best known for their long-running stint as Dr. Callie Torres in Grey’s Anatomy and Tony-winning performance in the musical Spamalot.
While little was initially known about their role, Che Diaz, it was announced they would be the franchise’s first ever non-binary character (Sara themself came out as non-binary in August 2020).
December 2021: And Just Like That debuts – and Che immediately raises eyebrows
It did not take long for fans of Sex And The City to voice their thoughts on Che, a comedian who presented the podcast X, Y and Me, on which Carrie Bradshaw was a contributor.
Among the criticisms of Che were the “jokes” they employed in their stand-up routines, the characters’ repeated use of the term “comedy concert” to describe Che’s live shows, the clumsy way they referred to their drug intake (“I’ve done a ton of weed”) and the “woke alarm” button they made ample use of while presenting their podcast.
Not helping matters at all was the fact that Che was the catalyst for Miranda leaving her husband, Steve, putting an end to one of fans’ favourite relationships from Sex And The City’s original run.
June 2023: And Just Like That dives deeper into Che Diaz as a character
One thing we did respect about And Just Like That’s second season was the fact it doubled down on Che Diaz, despite fans’ criticisms of the character.
In fact, the writing team even made it a plot point, with an episode in season two seeing Che being torn apart by a focus group who watched the pilot of their ill-fated sitcom Che Pasa, where a queer member of the panel described Che’s character as a “phoney, sanitised, performative, cheesy, dad joke bullshit version of what the non-binary experience is”.
Later in the episode, Che was heard lamenting: “This is my identity! It took me 46 years to figure out who I am – and then a focus group one hour to fucking destroy me.”
July 2023: Sara Ramírez defends their character Che Diaz
While promoting season two of And Just Like That, Sara gave several interviews in defence of Che.
“The women on the show get to be messy and imperfect, likeable and unlikeable, so of course, Che also gets to be imperfect, complex, likeable, and unlikeable,” they told Elle.
“You know, the LGBTQIA+ community isn’t perfect, and we shouldn’t have to be.”
Sara also told The Cut a month earlier: “I think there are people like Che out in the world, and I think that opinions about whether Che is representing an authentically queer person or not is not for me to answer.
“It’s exciting to have Che be a disruption to the mainstream. We had been experiencing the mass mobilisation for anti-racism for George Floyd, so being aware of how important disruption is, being aware of how important it is to wake people up from the sleep of their own comfort and privilege, was so important to me that summer.”
August 2023: Sara Ramírez responds to a piece in The Cut
Of the aforementioned interview in The Cut, Sara later said in a now-deleted Instagram post: “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.
“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.”
They added: “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.”
Season two of And Just Like That also came to an end in August, around the time a third run was confirmed to be in the works.
October 2023: Sara Ramírez voices support for Palestine amid Gaza conflict
Sara has always been a passionate advocate for causes they believe in, and in the past three months, have repeatedly voiced their support for Palestine amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and sharing photos of themself at protests in support of Palestine.
Interestingly, on New Year’s Eve, Sara shared a post reflecting on the past year, including having been “let go from spaces that are not worthy of me, and invited into spaces that are”, though they offered no further clarification or detail.
17 January 2024: Sara Ramírez calls out ‘duplicitous’ entertainment industry
Rumours about Sara’s future with And Just Like That began in January 2024, when they shared a cryptic post on Instagram calling out the “duplicitous” nature of the entertainment industry.
“While they give awards away, casting directors and agents are making blacklists of actors and workers who post anything in support of Palestinians in Gaza to ensure they will not work again,” they wrote.
“While they lift up some of their own clients who have spoken up against this genocide, they are firing and letting others who have smaller platforms go. While they award ‘LGBTQ orgs’, they are silent on those orgs ties to weapons manufacturers who are currently supporting the Israel military as it commits genocide on Palestinian lives that include LGBTQIA2S+ lives.
“I get it. Awards are shiny and people need to pay their rent or feel special and powerful. Meanwhile we are beyond the 100 day mark on this ‘war’ that has been acknowledged by many, including the ICC, as a genocide.”
They added: “It’s wild how performative so many in Hollywood are. Even more performative than the last character I played.”
Shortly after this, media outlets began picking up on Sara’s words, to which they responded: “Don’t let tabloids distract you from what’s happening in Gaza. Really nice try, though.”
18 January 2024: The Daily Mail alleges that Sara has been dropped from the third season of And Just Like That
Before we get into this next section, it’s worth noting that it’s based on an unconfirmed report in the Daily Mail, which cites an undisclosed “source close to the show”.
According to the Mail’s “source”, Sara will not be returning to And Just Like That, but it’s not because they’ve been “blacklisted” over their support of Palestine.
Instead, they claim that Sara has been dropped from season three as character was “annoying” to viewers and no longer had “value” to the storyline since they split from Miranda.
Miranda and Che split halfway through season two, although Sara’s character remained in the show for its entire run, including at Carrie’s “last supper” get-together at her apartment.
However, the “source” added: “The storyline as a struggling comedian was a waste of airtime and Sara knew it.”
It was also pointed out that cast member Cynthia Nixon has also been vocal in her support of Palestine.
Representatives for Sara Ramírez and And Just Like That executive producer Michael Patrick King did not respond to HuffPost UK’s request for comment, while the US streaming service Max had no comment.
With their name suddenly at the centre of conversation yet again, Sara did share the below post on Instagram, in which they belted out a song they once performed in the musical Spamalot (the same role once played by Hannah Waddingham, interestingly enough!), and called for a ceasefire in the Middle East.
27 February 2024: Variety reports that Sara will not be returning to And Just Like That
A month after the first reports about Sara’s future with And Just Like That, Variety made similar claims that they won’t be returning for season three.
Much like the Daily Mail’s previous reports, Variety alleged that Che had been written out of the show as their story had “reached a natural conclusion, since their relationship with Miranda had ended”.
They also cited undisclosed “sources” who insisted that neither Sara’s “politics” nor their “Instagram presence” were reasons for their character being axed.
Sara has not commented publicly on the rumours, but has been active on Instagram, sharing more content in support of Palestine on their Instagram Stories.
Meanwhile, Cynthia Nixon said during an interview on Live With Kelly And Mark a week earlier that filming on And Just Like That will resume in “May and June”, but did not mention Sara.
Max declined to comment when contacted by HuffPost UK. We have also reached out to Sara Ramírez’s team.