Sara Ramirez Reacts to Che Diaz Backlash: 'I Have to Protect My Own Mental Health'

Sara Ramirez is speaking out about the backlash their And Just Like That… character Che Diaz has received.

In a new interview with The New York Times, the actor said that they were “very aware of the hate that exists online,” but “have to protect [their] own mental health and [their] own artistry.”

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“That’s way more important to me because I’m a real human being,” they continued. “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.”

On the show, Sara plays a non-binary comedian who starts a relationship with Miranda (Cynthia Nixon). Some fans were upset that Miranda had left her husband Steve in order to pursue Che.

Sara explained that they were “not in control of the writing.”

“In real life, there are a lot of different human beings who show up to the table, speaking truth to power in myriad ways,” they shared. “And they all land differently with different people. And Che Diaz has their own audience that they speak to who really get a kick out of what they’re doing.”

In the And Just Like That documentary, it was revealed that Miranda’s romantic interest was initially supposed to be her professor Nya, played by Karen Pittman.

“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?” Cynthia explained in the doc.

“That doesn’t seem great,” she continued, “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?’”

Sara said they could imagine Che having a “very witty and silly and funny” reaction to all the backlash around the character.

“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,” they said. “And maybe just a little reminder that no one’s perfect.”

Last year, Sara revealed whether they’d ever return to Grey’s Anatomy.