Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance is doubling down on his controversial remarks about “childless cat ladies” leading the Democratic Party.
During a 2021 appearance on Tucker Carlson’s former Fox News show, Tucker Carlson Tonight, Vance complained that the United States is run by "a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made," adding, "and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too."
The comments, which resurfaced in the wake of Donald Trump naming Vance as his running mate for the upcoming presidential election, were swiftly condemned by many, including Whoopi Goldberg on The View and Friends star Jennifer Aniston, who slammed the politician for his stance on limiting reproductive rights in the U.S.
Vance then responded on Friday's episode of SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Show, arguing that his remarks were taken out of context and that he was not criticizing women with fertility issues, but rather arguing that Democrats were "anti-family."
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Jennifer Aniston; J.D. Vance.
Monica Schipper/FilmMagic; Chip Somodevilla/Getty
Jennifer Aniston condemns J.D. Vance's 'cat ladies' comment, prays his daughter can have kids without needing IVF
"You've got Hollywood celebrities saying, 'Oh, well, J.D. Vance, what if your daughter suffered fertility problems?'" he said. "Well, first of all, that's disgusting because my daughter is 2 years old. And second of all, if she had fertility problems, as I said in that speech, I would try everything I could to try to help her because I believe families and babies are a good thing."
Representatives for Aniston did not immediately respond to Entertainment Weekly’s request for comment.
On Wednesday, Aniston wrote on Instagram Stories, "I truly can't believe this is coming from a potential VP of the United States. 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 as a second option. Because you are trying to take that away from her, too."
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In his initial 2021 comments, Vance pointed a finger at the now presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, saying, "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. 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?"
While Buttigieg and his husband, Chasten, welcomed twins about a month after Mr. Vance’s comments, Harris shares two stepchildren with her husband, Doug Emhoff, from his previous marriage to Kerstin Emhoff.
As they recirculated on social media, Vance's remarks elicited a response from Harris' stepdaughter, Ella Emhoff, who wrote on Instagram Stories, per NBC, "How can you be 'childless' when you have cutie-pie kids like Cole and I?"
She added, "I love my three parents."
She accompanied her comments with a screenshot of the statement that her mother, Kerstin, provided to CNN, which read: "For over 10 years, since Cole and Ella were teenagers, Kamala has been a co-parent with Doug and I. She is loving, nurturing, fiercely protective, and always present. I love our blended family and am grateful to have her in it."
