Candice Bergen And Selena Gomez took aim at the Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vancea widely ridiculed comment by “childless cat ladies” on Emmy.
During the show's introduction, Bergen referenced her series Murphy Brown, saying, “In one classic moment, my character was attacked by Vice President Dan Quayle when Murphy got pregnant and decided to raise the child as a single mother. Oh, how far we've come. Today, a Republican nominee for vice president would never attack a woman for having children. So, as they say, my job here is done. Meow.”
Presenting the award to her There's Nothing But Murder in the Building co-stars Steve Martin and Martin Short, Gomez encouraged them by saying, “And let me just say what an honor it is to work with two guys who are so far from being childless cat ladies.”
In a 2021 interview with Tucker Carlson, Vance said, “We are essentially run in this country by, whether it's the Democrats, whether it's our corporate oligarchs, a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable with their lives and the choices they've made, and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too.”
The comments were widely criticized and mocked in pop culture, from late-night jokes to Taylor Swift's support for Kamala Harris.
Harris herself has no biological children, but has been a stepmom to her husband Doug Emhoff's two children for a decade. Emhoff's ex-wife, Kerstin Emhoff, quickly came to Harris' defense after Vance's allegations surfaced, saying, “She is loving, caring, fiercely protective, and always there for me. I love our blended family and am grateful to have her in it.”