Whoopi Goldberg, Jennifer Aniston, more celebs denounce JD Vance's 'cat ladies' remarks
Though Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance's remarks about the U.S. being run "by a bunch of childless cat ladies" are a few years old, the comments have been going viral since former Pres. Donald Trump chose the Ohio senator as his running mate for the 2024 presidential election last week.
The statements, made during a "Tucker Carlson Tonight" interview that aired on Fox News in July 2021, have riled up people on both sides of the aisle and sparked backlash from celebrities including Jennifer Aniston, Whoopi Goldberg and her "The View" co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin.
"We are effectively run in this country … by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made, and so they wanna make the rest of the country miserable, too," Vance told Carlson. "It's just a basic fact. You look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez), the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children."
He added, "And how does it make any sense that we've turned our country over to people who don't really have a direct stake in it?"
Vice President Harris, whom President Joe Biden backed as the Democratic presidential nominee, is a stepmother to husband Douglas Emhoff's children with ex-wife Kerstin Emhoff, Cole and Ella Emhoff. U.S. Transportation Secretary Buttigieg and his husband, Chasten, welcomed twins Penelope Rose and Joseph August in September 2021.
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Read on for the notable figures who have weighed in on Vance's controversial comments.
'Sexism in action':Kamala Harris and when we reduce women to 'childless cat ladies'
Jennifer Aniston: 'Can't believe this is coming from a potential VP'
Aniston on Wednesday took to her Instagram Stories to make a rare political statement.
"I truly can't believe this is coming from a potential VP of the United States," the "Friends" star wrote alongside a screenshot of a social media post with the Fox News video.
She added, "All I can say is… Mr. Vance, I pray that your daughter is fortunate enough to bear children of her own one day. I hope she will not need to turn to IVF (in vitro fertilization) as a second option. Because you are trying to take that away from her, too."
The actor could have been referring to The Right to IVF Act failing to advance in the U.S. Senate in June after most Republican representatives voted against the legislation.
In 2022, Aniston opened up about her fertility struggles in a cover story for Allure.
"I was trying to get pregnant," she said, referring to when she was in her late 30s into her 40s. "It was a challenging road for me, the baby-making road."
She added, "I was going through IVF, drinking Chinese teas, you name it. I was throwing everything at it. I would’ve given anything if someone had said to me, 'Freeze your eggs. Do yourself a favor.' You just don't think it. So here I am today. The ship has sailed."
Ella Emhoff, Kamala Harris' stepdaughter: 'I love my three parents'
Ella Emhoff, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff's youngest child, came to stepmom Harris' defense in an Instagram Story Thursday.
"How can you be 'childless' when you have cutie pie kids like Cole and I," the 25-year-old wrote alongside a screenshot of CNN's broadcast, which quoted her mother calling Harris a "loving, nurturing (and) fiercely protective" co-parent.
"@kemhoff say it louder for the people in the back," Ella Emhoff wrote. "I love my three parents."
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Whoopi Goldberg: 'How dare you'
On Wednesday's episode of "The View," the hosts discussed Vance's 2021 comments, which Goldberg said were "not really helping him connect with a lot of voters."
"Sir, there are people who have chosen not to have children for whatever reason. There are people who want to have children who cannot. How dare you," Goldberg said. "You never had a baby. Your wife had a baby. But you never had a baby, so you know nothing about this. How dare you."
She added, "And women? You heard how he thinks of you. This is not good for you, JD."
Later, Goldberg gave a history lesson, naming presidents George Washington, James Polk, James Buchanan (who was also never married) and Andrew Jackson as figures who did not have biological children.
"You know who else didn't have (biological) kids? George Washington, the father of our nation. But you know what he did? Like Kamala, he raised Martha (Washington)'s children. He raised them with her," Goldberg said.
Griffin, who was formerly the communications director in Pres. Trump's White House, also took her turn criticizing Vance's resurfaced interview.
"I am hearing from so many girlfriends, lifelong Republicans, who are so offended by it. Because if you're a woman of about my age, your mid-30s, the most common thing that my friends are dealing is infertility, miscarriages, struggling to get pregnant, wanting to and it not happening, or people who so badly want to get married but they haven't met the right partner yet," Griffin said.
"How dare you denigrate them and say that they are not as valuable, they don't have as much of a stake in this society," she added. "And finally, how dare you come for cat ladies? The cover of Time magazine (was) Taylor Swift, the ultimate, fabulous cat lady!"