Sarah Jessica Parker defends Carrie Bradshaw, calling out the double standard in how flawed female characters are judged more harshly than male leads.
Sarah Jessica Parker recently addressed the longstanding criticism of her character Carrie Bradshaw, highlighting the pervasive double standard in how audiences judge flawed female characters versus flawed male leads.
Drawing on her more than 25 years inhabiting the role—beginning with Sex and the City (1998–2004) and continuing through two feature films and the sequel And Just Like That…—Parker emphasized that Carrie, despite her missteps, remains fundamentally “an extraordinarily decent and good person.”
She pointed out that viewers often react punitively when women on screen make mistakes (such as affairs, poor spending choices, or emotional immaturity), whereas similar or far graver transgressions by male protagonists can be met with sympathy or even celebration.
Parker’s remarks, made in a HuffPost interview, underscore how female-led narratives are scrutinized: “It’s always interesting to me that [this is] so condemned, but a male lead on a show can be a murderer, and people love him.”
In contrast, when a woman behaves “poorly” or errs in love, the audience response tends to veer toward condemnation. Yet, she recognizes that strong reactions—positive or negative—reflect deep audience engagement.
Parker finds value in emotional investment (“those kinds of strong feelings … are pretty wonderful”), even as she questions why such engagement results in harsher judgment for women. Her comments invite reflection on cultural norms around empathy, moral complexity, and gender.
Carrie Bradshaw’s journey has been emblematic of a certain kind of female-centered storytelling: a complex, messy protagonist navigating friendships, romance, career challenges, and personal growth in New York City.
Parker notes Carrie’s generosity, loyalty, and “generous spirit and time,” qualities that coexist with her more criticized behaviors. By defending those nuances, Parker situates Carrie alongside a broader trend in television and film: characters who are not “perfect” but deeply human.
Her observation—that male characters often receive leniency for criminal or unethical acts—spotlights how audience expectations and industry framings differ by gender. It raises questions about why society allows more moral gray areas for men while expecting women to conform more strictly to “likable” molds.
The Sex and the City franchise itself has evolved alongside cultural conversations about gender, relationships, and representation.
From its six seasons on HBO to two films and the prequel The Carrie Diaries, and now three seasons of And Just Like That…, the series has both reflected and influenced views on women’s autonomy, sexuality, and friendship.
Parker’s defense of Carrie acknowledges the character’s imperfections while celebrating the meaningful connection audiences maintain with her.
By calling out disparate treatment, Parker encourages viewers to reconsider their responses to female complexity: to recognize that, as with male characters, flawed women can still be engaging, relatable, and worthy of empathy.
This dialogue contributes to a larger cultural shift toward accepting multifaceted portrayals of all genders, challenging viewers to question why judgment standards differ and how those standards shape narratives and audience experiences.
