And Just Like That Season 2 Sparks Outrage with Tone Deaf Storyline

Riding on the success of Sex and the City isn't enough anymore for And Just Like That, as fans are becoming increasingly fed up with the spinoffs' attempts at representation, which are quickly overshadowed by the show's tone-deafness.

In a fashion-focused Season 2, episode 2, fans watched on as the women treated Anthony like an accessory. Needed when convenient, otherwise discarded. And Just Like That has undoubtedly fallen into the portrayal of the offensive, lazy trope, and fans are not here for it because, 'It's 2023 and they're trying very hard to be woke and yet they still refer to Anthony as the gay best friend.'

The latest fiasco involved the MET gala, with Carrie, Charlotte, and Seema prepping to go to the event. It's a fashion frenzy for fans, but the glitz and the glam were ultimately overshadowed by Charlotte's dirty treatment of her gay best friend Anthony. Charlotte disinvites Anthony as her plus one, then he is given Seema's ticket, who decides she wants it back last minute, so Anthony ends up sad at home watching the MET (after having a couture tux made) only to receive a call from Charlotte asking if he can be ready in 20 minutes.

It's clear that things haven't changed, and fans aren't sure if they're going to, not for Anthony.

Miranda's sexual awakening and relationship with Che have been relatively okay, although the whole thing lacks chemistry and feels mismatched.

But this doesn't mean AJLT succeeded at queer representation, as other queer fans have pointed out that 'we adult gays do more than have random sex…' and that 'everyone's sexuality and gender are too emphasized. Why can't Anthony be introduced as Charlotte's male best friend, what does his being gay have to do with their friendship?'

Looking back at Sex and the City, Charlotte and Carrie set Anthony and Stanford, their respective gay best friends up in a moment that a fan describes as: 'Oh you have a gay BFF!? Me too! They should fall in love and get married despite having nothing in common besides their gayness!!'

Unfortunately, the gay stereotypes do not seem to be left in the past with Sex and the City, as the writers of And Just Like That… are constantly being called out for their tone-deafness, stereotypical tropes, and lack of character development for their gay male characters.

Anthony deserved better than the MET Gala fiasco, his character deserves better plots and development, and more importantly, he deserves better friends. Charlotte should not be able to get away with a friendship of convenience and treat him as an accessory.

There's still time for Season 2 to change the narrative, and we can only hope they do or more and more people will be giving up on And Just Like That.

And Just Like That… Season 2 Episode 3 will arrive on Max on July 06, 2023.

Source: Reddit.