Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Sarah Jessica Parker makes candid comment about awkward And Just Like That scene: ‘None of this is my idea’

‘I influence no stories, no writing, no lines, no sweeping big ideas about plot,’ said the actor

Greg Evans
Saturday 07 June 2025 07:10 EDT
Comments
And Just Like That season 3 trailer

Sarah Jessica Parker has shared her thoughts on an awkward phone sex scene in the latest season of And Just Like That, claiming that she didn’t have any “influence” over the moment.

The Sex and The City spinoff returned to TV screens earlier this month for its third season picking up the story right where things were left.

At the end of the previous season Parker’s character, Carrie Bradshaw, had amicably decided to cool off her relationship with Aidan (John Corbett) so he could focus on his family in Virginia.

However, in the first episode of season three, the two catch up over a drunken phone call which soon descends into phone sex. An unimpressed Carrie ends up faking her orgasm during the call in order to get it over and done with – all while her pet cat awkwardly watches on.

Speaking to Glamour, Parker was asked about the scene and whether she actually wanted to film it or not.

The 60-year-old candidly responded: “I didn’t want to, it’s in the script. I don’t come up with these ideas. None of this is my idea, I influence no stories, no writing, no lines, no sweeping big ideas about plot.”

Sarah Jessica Parker in ‘And Just Like That’
Sarah Jessica Parker in ‘And Just Like That’ (HBO)

She added: “It’s a scene that [showrunner] Michael Patrick King thought was important, as [Carrie and Aidan] attempt to honour this sabbatical, and a way in which they’re trying to stay connected, and sort of respect the boundaries that are unclear.”

“That’s an instance where I didn’t have a strong enough defence against it, so I was like, ‘alright’. There are worse things people are asked to do at work,” she then said when pressed on the subject, before admitting it was a subject she didn’t want to “spend too much time on”.

Earlier this year, Parker credited King with being the one person who keeps her from getting mad at Bradshaw’s decisions despite audiences being consistently upset with the character.

Speaking on Today with Jenna & Friends in April Parker said: “I feel like I have such implicit trust and faith in Michael Patrick and his extraordinary writing staff that, though decisions sometimes, I recognise, might be controversial or give people grief or have people have very big feelings, it’s incredibly fun to do,” she said. “So I really love it.”

The show’s co-hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Justin Sylvester also asked if she ever wanted Bradshaw to make different decisions.

Sarah Jessica Parker has played Carrie Bradshaw since 1998
Sarah Jessica Parker has played Carrie Bradshaw since 1998 (Getty Images)

“We’ve watched Carrie date for so many years on our TV screens. Is there ever a moment where you’re like, ‘Girl, wake up!’ Are you ever yelling at your character to do something different?” Sylvester asked. The Hocus Pocus actor then curtly replied, “No.”

“It’s been such a sort of extraordinary experience,” she said. “I try to describe it as being contractually obligated to play somebody else – be somebody else – for about 27 years, to behave in ways which would be illegal if I, as a married person with children, ways in which I would behave in the city or with men.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in