Is Candace Bushnell Friends With Sarah Jessica Parker?

"Sex and the City" is one of the most iconic female-led series of all time. Running from 1998 to 2004, the HBO series was adapted from Candace Bushnell's book anthology of the same name. As most fans know, protagonist Carrie Bradshaw was written as a fictionalized version of Bushnell herself. Naturally, that raises questions about her opinion of the series. In October 2021, she opened up about "Sex and the City," grabbing headlines with the assertion that the series was not feminist. The writer explained that despite its revered status, the series itself presents a troubling moral: get the guy. Bushnell, a divorcee, felt that Carrie "landing" Big went against the friendship-centered narrative that defined the series.

"The reality is, finding a guy is maybe not your best economic choice in the long term," Bushnell explained. "Men can be very dangerous to women in a lot of different ways. We never talk about this, but that's something that women need to think about: You can do a lot less ... when you have to rely on a man. The TV show and the message were not very feminist at the end."

She added, "But that's TV. That's entertainment. That's why people should not base their lives on a TV show." Despite her disapproval of the series' ending, Bushnell seemingly harbors no ill will towards "Sex and the City" or its revival. The author added, "HBO's going to make money on it. They're going to exploit it ... Of course I'm going to watch it ... I hope it runs for six seasons."

At first, Candace Bushnell resented the inability to move on from the "nonexistent-in-reality Carrie Bradshaw." However, the further she gets from the conclusion of the hit series, the more she comes to terms with its legacy. Interestingly enough, Bushnell once considered taking a more active role on "Sex and the City." It's hard to imagine a word where Carrie Bradshaw and Sarah Jessica Parker aren't synonymous. However, the author revealed that Parker had reservations about playing her now-iconic role.

"So after she shot the pilot, she did not want to do it," Bushnell explained on an episode of "Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef." She added, "And I think at one point they were saying that I should have played the part. And now I'm like, 'Yeah, I should've played the part.' But then they convinced her to do it." While Parker nailed the part, seeing Bushnell play a fictionalized version of herself would have made for an interesting take on the series. On the podcast, Bushnell also shared that between the long working days and the cutthroat nature of business, she decided television was not for her. The freedom she got from writing and performing onstage allowed her more creativity and fulfillment. 

So while Bushnell expressed some regret over not playing the role herself, she doesn't seem to harbor ill-will towards Parker for playing Carrie. In fact, not getting the part allowed her to step out from under Carrie's shadow — somewhere she would have likely been stuck had she both played and written the character.

Given their similarities, it stands to reason that Candace Bushnell and Sarah Jessica Parker might have a lot in common. However, the author revealed that she only remains friends with one "Sex and the City" alum: Kim Cattrall. "Certain relationships have a certain time," Bushnell told the New York Post in 2021. "I'm friendly with Kim Cattrall. I've seen Cynthia Nixon in the Hamptons. Not the others. There's not been a cross-over."

While Bushnell didn't call Parker out by name, claiming Cattrall as her primary friend from the series seemingly points toward the fact that the real-life and fictional Carrie Bradshaw aren't the best of friends. For those who aren't in the know, Parker and Cattrall famously feuded throughout production of "Sex and the City."

As a result, Cattrall outright stated she was done with the mean girl drama. Her character of Samantha Jones was notably left out of the revival series, "And Just Like That." Cattrall expressed a clear disinterest in the franchise, telling the Daily Mail, "You learn lessons in life and my lesson is to do work with good people." Though, as of this writing, she's never stated any disdain for Parker publicly, Bushnell's friendship with Cattrall seems to more or less confirm where her loyalties lie.