Sarah Jessica Parker visits Toronto on March 16, 2010, to promote Halston Heritage, an updated collection of the famous 1970s dress label that will be sold at the Bay.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Sarah Jessica Parker groaned as she was called for jury duty in a fraud case Monday, according to the New York Post.
Her daughter was sick and she had an international flight to contend with, the actress reportedly told another prospective juror at the Manhattan federal court.
Lucky for SJP, the jury box was filled before she was summoned.
In a phoner with the Post, Ms. Parker was adamant that she had been "ready, willing and able to serve."
"I never once raised my hand. I don't shirk any of my civic responsibilities," she said.
Manhattan has seen a long list of famous jurors, from Kathleen Turner and Tom Wolfe to Uma Thurman and Harvey Keitel.
Former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani served on a jury that found in favour of the defendant, "a landlord who was sued by a former tenant who said his private parts had been scalded in a shower," according to The New York Times.
The award for whiniest celeb juror goes to Woody Allen, who reportedly sent a note claiming he'd been too traumatized by his child-custody battle with Mia Farrow to attend court again. (The director showed up wearing fatigues, encircled by his lawyer, agent and a bodyguard - he was eventually dismissed.)
As for the average Joe, hemorrhoids are a recurring excuse (really), the New York Times reports. So is loss of income: Jury duty does not pay well in most provinces.
What have you done to get out of jury duty? Or are you like SJP, ready, willing and able to serve?
Zosia Bielski