Part 2
Stalkers, Woody Allen Fears, and That Sibling Chaos
The conversation took an amusingly morbid detour when Rita asked what kind of stalker Sarah would prefer if forced to choose: male or female. Without missing a beat, Sarah picked a female stalker, jokingly arguing that she could probably talk her down or plait her hair, whereas men in crime stories tend to be the actual murderers. As for her real, day-to-day phobia? Pure, unadulterated fear of flying, describing her own neurotic worldview as full-blown Woody Allen misery.
At the time of this chat, Sarah and Cherry had officially broken up, a split made public after Cherry won an Emmy for *24* and gave an interview to *Us Weekly*. Sarah kept things dignified and honest, noting that while the breakup was complicated and ongoing, they remained friendly. She had zero interest in spilling messy gossip, choosing instead to protect the bond they had built.
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Before wrapped things up, Sarah previewed what was on her immediate plate: heading to Broadway alongside Linda Lavin for Donald Margulies' play *Collected Stories*, filming a top-secret guest spot on *Grey's Anatomy*, and an upcoming episode of *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit* where she played a villain with notoriously terrible hair.
Nothing tops the closing minutes of the interview, where Rita brought up a large nude painting hanging in her home. Rita had purchased and displayed the art piece because she thought the woman's torso was gorgeous, only for Sarah to point out that the painting was literally of Sarah herself. Rita had unknowingly hung a provocative portrait of her own sister in her living room, sparking an argument over whether thinking your sister's headless portrait is 'hot' crosses every known sibling boundary.
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Watching this snapshot of Sarah Paulson right before her career went supernova is a masterclass in staying completely grounded while your public profile detonates around you. She wasn't building a brand; she was just an extraordinary working actor trying to live honestly, survive bad airline turbulence, and survive her sister's bizarre home decor choices.
If you ever needed proof that Sarah Paulson has always been the coolest person in the room, this conversation is all the evidence you'll ever need.
