JD Vance Jokes Celebs Couldn't Stop Making at the Emmys

A walk down nostalgia lane (reminiscent of the last Primetime Emmys in January) and expected sweeps from the heavyweights. the bear, the shogun, Baby reindeerAnd HacksThe 76th Primetime Emmys can be predicted down to the second. The show, which aired Sunday on ABC, hit all the regular beats while honoring industry titans like producer Greg Berlanti and beloved small screen archetypes like television moms, dads, villains, doctors and cops. One thing that was not expected? Celebrities' cat-like fixation on our Republican vice-presidential candidate's notoriously sour comments.

When a video resurfaced of a Fox News interview in July 2021 in which JD Vance told Tucker Carlson that our country is dominated by Democrats, “corporate oligarchs” and “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable about their own lives and choices. They did” who “the country Wants to make the rest miserable too,” people scoffed at the sensational generalization. Vance's comments, which found new life on social media after Kamala Harris succeeded Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee, named Harris, Pete Buttigieg and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as symbols of “controlling the entire future of the Democrats.” By childless people.” Despite the fact that the smear was untrue—Harris is a stepmother, while Buttigieg and her husband adopted twins—it became a flashpoint in the culture wars of the 2024 election. Both cat Vance insults. And Childless People drew vocal opposition in the form of op-eds, statements from congresswomen and comments from various celebrities, including Chelsea Handler, Jennifer Aniston and, most recently, Taylor Swift — who signed her recent statement endorsing Harris “Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady.”

Now, the Emmys have added a handful of extra jabs to Vance's ill-natured comments. It started with Emmy nominee Selena Gomez — who shared the night's first award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Only murder in the building Co-hosts Steve Martin and Martin Short, and famous friends with Swift—said: “And let me just say what an honor it is to work with two guys who are so far from being childless cat ladies.” Then, Candice Bergen, its star Murphy BrownCame on stage to present for Best Actress in a Comedy Series During the presentation, Bergen reminded us of when the show upset then-Vice President Dan Coyle, when Bergen's title character became pregnant and chose to raise her child as a single mother. Bergen followed up with his throwback: “Oh, how far we've come … Today, there will be a Republican candidate for vice president. never Assault on a woman for carrying a child. So, as they say, I'm done here. Meow!” (I dare say, it was also heard around the world.) And, as a bonus, when D the bearEben Moss-Bachrach won for best supporting actor in a comedy series for the second year in a row, thanking her parents, whom she praised for “taking such good care of my cat.” Was it a political reference or merely a note of gratitude to his parents? Unclear, but we'll take it.

Overall, the show was pretty loose on socio-political statements compared to awards shows in recent years, though Reservation dog D'Pharaoh Un-A-Tae wore a red handprint on her face to raise awareness for #NoMoreStolenSisters, while BridgertonNicola Coughlan wore an Artists4 Ceasefire pin, and Baby reindeerIts Richard Gadd wore a pin in support of UK-based organization We Are Survivors. Still, Emira found time (a miracle!) in her tidy three hours to let viewers vote, celebrate the award's most diverse nominee list, and endlessly remind the hard-working cat-parents among us to validate. It wasn't all a cat party, though — dog owners were represented in the form of a simultaneously touching and incredible acceptance speech. Last week tonightIts John Oliver, who compared himself to Sarah McLachlan as the musical cue played him off stage as he eulogized his late pooch.

In short: For better or worse, the Emmys have ensured that pets (a topic that has made countless news headlines for unhealthy reasons in the past week) will remain a topic of conversation. For this, I take the final word from Murphy Brown: meow.