Sarah Jessica Parker has addressed the harsh criticism she faced over her appearance on “Sex and the City,” revealing on the June 18 episode of “Call Her Daddy” that some comments left her in tears.
Discussions of my physical person [were the hardest],” said Parker, 60, according to People. “Like, stuff that I couldn’t change and wouldn’t change and had never considered changing, or still even after hearing something that was like, ‘What? Somebody would say that?’ — even still, no interest in changing it.”
Parker explained how the criticism felt one-sided and left her unable to respond or engage in a dialogue.
“Also, I didn’t feel like it was actually a conversation,” she said. “I didn’t feel like I could sit in a room, and someone would say to me, ‘You’re really unattractive,’ and then I could say, ‘Wow. Well, first of all, that’s hard to hear. But second of all, why do you seem angry about it, or why do you feel it’s necessary to comment?'”
During the podcast, Parker shared a moment when she became emotional after seeing harsh remarks about her looks in a magazine.
“It was brought to my attention that a magazine said something really mean about who I am, how I look,” she said. “And it was like a kick in the rubber parts. I was just like, ‘Why is this a problem? … Why do you seem to delight in saying it?’ And I called two of my friends … and I was sobbing because it felt so purposeful.”
Reflecting on that experience, she revealed how the constant criticism eventually overwhelmed her emotions.
“That’s the only time I really cried about it. I think it was just an accumulation of maybe a season of that kind of commentary,” she said, adding that she “cried about it because it just seemed so cruel.”
Parker portrayed Carrie Bradshaw on “Sex and the City” from 1998 to 2004, appeared in two follow-up films and later reprised the role in the sequel series “And Just Like That …,” which premiered in December 2021, according to People.
On the podcast, the actress admitted she “wasn’t prepared” for the intense scrutiny her personal life received during her time on “Sex and the City.”
“Being on a television show in particular … was probably a real test of my coping mechanisms because I wasn’t prepared, and this was before social media. So I really wasn’t prepared for public commentary,” she said.
Parker added that the public attention often shifted away from her work, noting it “was really unpleasant at times, where people would have opinions not about the work.”
“At that time, I thought I was a fairly confident person … but it really comes into question and is tested when you’re kind of filleted in a way,” she said. “We’re better for those kinds of experiences, but not all of us are good at it right away.”
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