Sara Ramirez Talks Che Diaz 'And Just Like That' Backlash

Spoiler alert! The character, played by nonbinary actor Sara Ramirez, is loud, obnoxious, caricature-ish and has been deemed the worst character on the show by the internet. They end up in a relationship with Cynthia Nixon's Miranda, who splits from her longtime partner Steve (David Eigenberg) and moves to Los Angeles with their new beau.

Ramirez is aware of the backlash their character is getting. “I’m very aware of the hate that exists online,” they told The New York Times in an interview. "But I have to protect my own mental health and my own artistry.” They added, “I’m really proud of the representation that we’ve created. 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.”

Ramirez also said that they don't necessarily identify with Che, clarifying that they had no control over the writing of the fictional character.

"Michael Patrick King [the showrunner of And Just Like That…] and the writers' room would probably answer that best since they wrote the character of Che Diaz," they explained. "I imagine Che would have something very witty and silly and funny as a rebuttal; something that ultimately reminds everyone that they are human; something with a sprinkling of self-deprecation, because I think they know they're a narcissist. And maybe just a little reminder that no one's perfect."

Initially, Ramirez's Che was not supposed to be Miranda's love interest. "So originally, when Michael was sort of trying to think about what would happen in our season, he talked about Nya (Karen Pittman), Miranda's professor, being the romantic relationship," Cynthia revealed in the And Just Like That documentary. "Nya was a straight character and Miranda's a straight character and I was like, 'Well that doesn't sound very sexy at all.' Do you know what I mean?"

Nixon didn't think it was very exciting to have "two women who have gotten to this age and are now just sort of fumbling around." She said, "That doesn't seem great. And I was like, 'Why couldn't it be, you know, why couldn't it be this butch person that you're talking about having for Carrie?'"

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