Jennifer Aniston is responding to remarks made by Ohio Senator JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential candidate, who referred to some politicians, including Vice President Kamala Harris, as “childless cat ladies.”
Jennifer Aniston, 55, took to Instagram to respond to controversial comments made by JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential candidate. Vance’s remarks, which surfaced from a 2021 interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, criticized certain politicians, including Vice President Kamala Harris, for being “childless cat ladies” who, according to him, are dissatisfied with their lives and wish to spread that misery.
In the interview clip, Vance, who is a father of three, stated, “You look at [Vice President] Kamala Harris, [U.S. Transportation Secretary] Pete Buttigieg, AOC [Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez], and the future of the Democrats is being shaped by people without children. It doesn’t make sense that we’ve entrusted our country to individuals who don’t have a direct stake in it.” These remarks gained renewed attention following Vance’s selection as Donald Trump’s 2024 vice presidential running mate and Kamala Harris becoming the likely Democratic presidential nominee.
Aniston, who does not have biological children, expressed strong disapproval on Instagram. She posted a segment of Vance’s remarks with a comment, “I truly can’t believe this is coming from a potential VP of the United States.” Aniston added, “Mr. Vance, I hope your daughter will one day have the opportunity to have children of her own, and I pray she won’t need to rely on IVF as an option, which you seem intent on restricting.”
A spokesperson for Vance defended him, claiming that his words were taken out of context. Taylor Van Kirk argued, “The left-wing media have distorted Senator Vance’s comments and created a false narrative. The real issue is the childless parents who have lost their children due to crime and fentanyl at Kamala Harris’s southern border.”
Aniston has publicly shared her own struggles with infertility, revealing in a 2022 Allure magazine interview that she underwent in-vitro fertilization and tried various methods to conceive. Despite the challenges, she expressed no regrets, stating, “I have zero regrets. I actually feel a sense of relief because I no longer have to wonder, ‘Can I? Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.’”
Aniston also addressed criticisms that she is “selfish” for not having children, asserting, “It’s as if being successful and childless is somehow a negative thing.”
Vance’s remarks have provoked backlash from women without children, stepparents, and those who have become parents through adoption or other non-traditional means. In response, Kerstin Emhoff, the ex-wife of Doug Emhoff (Kamala Harris’s husband) and the biological mother of his two children, defended Harris. She described Harris as “loving, nurturing, fiercely protective, and always present” and expressed gratitude for having her in their blended family.
Ella Emhoff, Doug Emhoff’s daughter, supported her mother’s statement on Instagram, asking, “How can you be ‘childless’ when you have cutie pie kids like Cole and I?”
