Jennifer Aniston was critical of Sen. JD Vance’s comments about “childless cat ladies who are unhappy with their own lives” when speaking about Vice President Kamala Harris in 2021.
Aniston, 55, took to Instagram Stories on Wednesday to make pointed comments to Vance, who is running for vice president under Donald Trump, posting a clip of himself speaking to conservative commentator Tucker Carlson.
“I really can’t believe this is coming from a potential VP of the United States,” the Friends star said. “All I can say is… Mr. Vance, I pray that your daughter is fortunate enough to have children of her own one day.
“I hope she doesn’t need IVF as a second option. Because you’re trying to take that away from her too.”
The comments Vance made in 2021 when questioning the vice president Harris´ leadership qualities of not having biological children have resurfaced, testing the young conservative senator in his first days on the campaign trail as part of the Republican presidential nomination.
Jennifer Aniston, 55, was critical of comments from Sen. JD Vance, 39, about “childless cat ladies who are unhappy with their own lives” when speaking about Vice President Kamala Harris in 2021. Pictured last month in LA
Aniston, 55, posted sharp words to Instagram Stories on Wednesday for Vance, who is running as Donald Trump’s vice presidential candidate, alongside a clip of him speaking with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson
When Vance was running for the Ohio Senate, he said in an interview with Fox News that “we’re basically run by Democrats in this country,” calling them “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are unhappy with their own lives and the choices they’ve made, and who want to make the rest of the country unhappy.”
He said they included Harris, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York.
“How is it possible that we are putting our country in the hands of people who have no direct interest in it?” asked Vance, who is now Donald Trump’s running mate.
Harris became a stepmother to two teenagers when she married entertainment attorney Douglas Emhoff in 2014. And Buttigieg announced in September 2021 that he and his husband had adopted twin babies, more than a month before Vance made those comments.
The clip went viral online. Hillary Clinton shared the clip in a post on X on Tuesday, adding sarcastically, “What a normal, relatable guy who definitely doesn’t mind women having less freedom.”
The recirculated comment could be a sign of the GOP ticket’s difficulties appealing to female voters and on the issue of reproductive rights. It follows the explosive entrance into the race of Harris, who secured the support of enough delegates to become the official nominee less than 32 hours after President Joe Biden ended his re-election bid.
It also details some of the fears strategists expressed that Trump was taking a political risk by choosing a running mate who has served less than two years in Congress and lacks experience on a larger stage. Trump liked Vance’s telegenic qualities, saying he reminded him of “a young Abraham Lincoln.”
Harris’ campaign disputed Vance’s position, saying “every American has a stake in the future of this country.”
Aniston said on her social media platform: “All I can say is… Mr. Vance, I pray that your daughter is lucky enough to have children of her own one day. I hope she doesn’t have to have IVF as a second option. Because you’re trying to take that away from her too.”
Comments Vance made in 2021 questioning Vice President Harris’ leadership because she had no biological children have resurfaced, posing a test for the young conservative senator in his early days as part of the Republican presidential ticket. Pictured Monday
“Ugly, personal attacks from JD Vance and Donald Trump are part of their dangerous Project 2025 agenda to ban abortion, decimate our democracy, and gut Social Security,” said James Singer, a Harris campaign spokesman, referring to a policy and personnel plan for a second Trump term that was drafted by a host of former administration officials.
Trump has tried to distance himself from the situation. Project 2025 says the Department of Health and Human Services must pursue “a robust agenda” to protect “the fundamental right to life.”
The document, however, does not include proposals to cut Social Security, even though the Heritage Foundation, which oversaw the benefit, has long pushed for changes in entitlements. The plan outlines a dramatic expansion of presidential power and a plan to lay off as many as 50,000 government workers.
According to Vance’s spokesman, the Harris campaign is lying about Vance’s positions, saying her past is “riddled with countless failures and disasters.”
“It is well known that Senator Vance owes much of his success in life to strong female role models, like his grandmother,” said spokesman Taylor Van Kirk.
Vance, 39, is a former Marine and businessman who was first elected to public office in 2022. He wrote the 2016 bestseller “Hillbilly Elegy” and developed a strong bond with Trump, his son Donald Trump Jr. and prominent MAGA figures. His personal story of growing up poor in Appalachia, with a mother who struggled with drug addiction, could resonate with voters.
One of the biggest questions Vance faces is his stance on abortion. Vance has previously said he would support a federal bill banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, but believes in certain exceptions.
Former President and current Republican candidate Donald Trump selected Vance as his vice presidential nominee on July 15. Pictured at a rally in Michigan on July 20.
In 2021, Vance floated the idea of giving parents the ability to vote on behalf of their children. Speaking at the conservative nonprofit Intercollegiate Studies Institute in Virginia, he said that people who don’t have children “have less of a stake in the future of the country.”
“When you go to the polls as a parent in this country, you should have more power and more opportunities to make your voice heard in our democratic republic than people who don’t have children,” he said.
“Doesn’t this mean that non-parents don’t have as much say as parents do?” critics asked at the time. “Doesn’t this mean that parents have more say in how a democracy functions? Yes, absolutely.”
