Cynthia Nixon is claiming her “Sex and the City” character Miranda Hobbes was “always queer” — despite the fact she only dated men and couldn’t bring herself to kiss a woman.
The actress, 56, made the revelation in an interview with Variety on Wednesday, declaring: “Even though she was only really interested in men, I think that Miranda had many other queer and, frankly, lesbianic qualities about her.”
Nixon — who identifies as queer and has been married to wife Christine Marinoni since 2012 — added: “I think for a lot of gay women … [Miranda] was a stand-in for the gay women we didn’t have.”
When the “Sex and the City” series ended in 2004, Miranda was married to bartender Steve Brady.
However, in the recent reboot, “And Just Like That,” Miranda embarks on an affair with nonbinary comedian Che Diaz, eventually coming to the realization that she is queer.
Miranda even leaves Steve in the reboot, a move that sparked a furious backlash from fans, who accused producers of betraying the history of the original show.
Nixon told Variety it was series showrunner Michael Patrick King who had the initial idea for Miranda to come out as queer in the reboot.
“I was like, ‘Sure, why not!’” Nixon said. “If we’re trying to do different stuff, and show different worlds, and show different aspects of these characters, why not do that?”
“Miranda has always grappled with power, and female power versus male power, and women getting the short end of the stick — and that’s a big issue for women who are queer,” Nixon further explained.
In the original series, Miranda identifies as heterosexual, although there are two episodes in which her sexuality is called into question.
In Season 1, the short-haired redhead is mistaken for a lesbian by her law colleagues. Eager for a promotion, she agrees to be set up on a date with a woman named Syd, but pulls away from a kiss, claiming she’s “definitely straight.”
Meanwhile, in an episode from the second season, Miranda claims she was a “major lesbian” in the fourth grade and kissed a female classmate.
The moment was never referenced again, with Miranda only pursuing relationships with men.
However, some viewers always suspected that the character was not straight, with one recently writing on Twitter: “I kind of wish Miranda would have started off as gay in the beginning of the series. I always felt like she was queer.”
But others lammed the reboot for making Miranda queer, claiming it felt untrue to the original series.
Many took issue with Miranda’s extramarital romance with Che, who quickly became known as “TV’s most hated character,” described as “irritating” and an “unbearable narcissist.”
Showrunner King also spoke with Variety, saying he was taken aback by viewers’ hatred for the character.
“My friend Gregg Araki — he’s a filmmaker — said to me, ‘How does it feel to have created the most polarizing character in all 5,000 shows that are on TV?’” King recalled.
Araki claimed TV characters were “drinking children’s blood” but “what everybody’s concerned about,” King said, “is a nonbinary stand-up comic in the present day.”
The reboot’s first season ends with Miranda leaving New York City to live with Che in Los Angeles, but it’s believed both characters will soon return to the screen, with the second season of “And Just Like That” ordered by streamer HBO Max.
