Sarah Jessica Parker Explains Why She Turns Down Fans’ Selfie Requests

Sarah Jessica Parker believes in living in the moment rather than capturing it.

In a clip from the actress’s recent interview on The Howard Stern Show, published on YouTube on Tuesday, June 10, the Sex and the City star explained her hesitancy to fulfill fans’ selfie requests. Parker, 60, detailed a recent situation in which a fan asked for a photograph at the airport.

“So here’s what I’ve been trying to do, because I was just at the airport on Friday,” she began. “A woman came up to me and she didn’t say hello, she just said, ‘Can I take your picture?’ And I said, ‘We didn’t even meet. You didn’t even introduce yourself. What’s your name?’ ”

After learning that the fan’s name is Julie, Parker then suggested that the two have a conversation rather than taking a photo. “I guarantee you it’s gonna be so much more meaningful,” she reasoned.

Parker then caught up with Julie after she got her family settled with food. 

Stern replied: “It’s like you’re a schoolteacher teaching everyone how to behave. It’s f—— annoying, yeah?”

Parker explained that while it’s not annoying, it can be frightening when fans immediately try to capture a picture of her.

“Here’s the thing: I kind of prefer it to somebody walking up to me with a camera already ready asking as they’re clicking,” she said. “I always am, like, startled by it. I much prefer to have a conversation — for someone to come up to me and say, ‘Maybe this isn’t your best time, my name is Veronica and I’m just here and I’m excited to see you.’ ”

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The Hocus Pocus star, who is married to Matthew Broderick and shares three children with him, believes in keeping her personal life private. However, she did give a rare insight into the advice she offers her children: son James Wilkie, 22, and twin daughters, Tabitha Hodge and Marion Loretta Elwell, 15.

While appearing on The E! News Sitdown with Bruce Bozzi last month, Parker explained that she wants her kids to gravitate towards work that inspires them. 

“You want for them to be pursuing things that are exciting and challenging and hard and gratifying and to be able to ultimately take care of themselves, support themselves — emotionally, financially, and that they can be in the world and be a reliable person to themselves and to other people,” she revealed. “And so we talk about work like that.”