Jennifer Aniston, the 55-year-old actress, is hitting back at comments made by Ohio Sen. JD Vance, who is now the Republican vice presidential candidate. Vance referred to certain politicians, including Vice President Kamala Harris, as “childless cat ladies.” Aniston took to Instagram to share a clip of Vance from a 2021 interview, in which he made these remarks, stating that “the country was run by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made, and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable too.”
Reacting to Vance’s comments, Aniston issued a strong rebuke on Instagram, expressing disbelief that these comments were coming from a potential Vice President of the United States. Aniston, who does not have any biological children, wrote, “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.”
Aniston’s response comes after Vance’s remarks resurfaced and went viral following former President Donald Trump’s announcement that Vance would be his running mate in the 2024 election, while Harris became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
It’s important to note that Aniston has spoken openly about her own struggles with infertility. In a 2022 interview with Allure magazine, she revealed that she underwent in-vitro fertilization and tried everything she could to become pregnant. She faced challenges on her journey to motherhood, but ultimately, she has no regrets and feels a sense of relief knowing that she doesn’t have to think about it anymore.
Aniston also addressed the misconception that successful women who choose not to have children are selfish or only care about their careers. She pushed back against this narrative, stating, “God forbid a woman is successful and doesn’t have a child.”
Vance’s comments have not only angered Aniston but also other women who do not have children, as well as those who are stepparents or have become parents through nontraditional means like adoption. Harris, for example, is a stepmom to two children, Cole Emhoff and Ella Emhoff, through her marriage to Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff. In response to the resurfaced clip of Vance, Kerstin Emhoff, the biological mother of Doug Emhoff’s children, defended Harris against what she called “baseless attacks.”
The backlash to Vance’s comments highlights the diversity of families and the variety of paths that individuals take to become parents. It challenges the narrow and outdated notion that a person’s worth is determined solely by their status as a parent.
Aniston’s response serves as a reminder that everyone’s choices and journeys are unique and should be respected. It’s essential to embrace and celebrate the different paths people take in life, whether they choose to have children or not.
