An army of "childless cat ladies" have come to TikTok to hit back at Senator JD Vance''s past remarks about women.
Yesterday, actor Jennifer Aniston dominated the headlines for calling out the Republican vice presidential candidate''s remarks on Instagram after a video of him voicing the derogatory comments during a 2021 Fox News interview resurfaced online.
Vance said: "We are effectively running this country via the Democrats, be it via our corporate oligarchs, 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."
Aniston, who does not have children, shared the video on her Instagram story with the statement: "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."
Now, "childless cat ladies" have come to TikTok to pounce back. In the new viral trend, women are editing Vance''s speech into a TikTok sound, which has already gained traction on the app, with 2,908 videos using it already.
Cecilia Marie (@andherescecelia) from Los Angeles, California, has joined other American women without children to co-opt JD Vance''s remarks to soundtrack videos of them showing off their pet cats.
"Just another childless cat lady who''s the future of the democratic party for duty," Marie wrote in the caption of her video, which garnered 139,200 likes and 636,100 views on TikTok.
@andheresceceliajust another childless cat lady whos the future of the democratic party reporting for duty #childfreemillennial #coconuttree #blackcatsoftiktok #childfreetiktok #miserablewoman
She performed a catwalk holding her black cat and rallied the support of fellow cat lovers.
"Childless cat ladies unite," said one woman in the comments.
"His statement made me angry/heartbroken at the same time. I was raised and loved by great aunties who never had kids, although they spent their lives working to educate and raise kids," said another woman of Vance.
''Childless Cat Ladies'' Are Clapping Back at JD Vance in New Viral Trend
Joining Marie is Lo (@lo_liz19), cat mom to Cheeto and Daphne, who used the sound to share footage of her cradling her gray and orange cats while grinning and amassed 87,700 likes and 545,900 views.
"Your smile of misery is glowing and your cats are presh," said one user.
@lo_liz19I had to do it #fyp #catlady #childlessmillennial
"You look pretty darn happy to me. cat ladies unite," said Loree.
"I am a childless cat lady. I love my life," said Brandie Hopek.
The owner of a rescue cat, Lucille (@lucilletherescue), also joined in on the trend.
"When will men start realizing that being called a ''cat lady'' is not even an insult," she wrote over the video of her and her black and white kitty, which received 60,700 likes and 236,000 views on the app.
The cat owner mimed JD Vance''s speech while Lucille rested on her lap.
"They really keep trying to make this ''miserable cat lady'' insult stick. They clearly fail to realize or accept that women are literally CHOOSING cats over men," said commenter Shan.
@lucilletherescuecatthe way i have had men mansplain to me that i should be insulted when they say that is ridiculous#fyp #catlady
Further adding to the chorus of criticism are Swifties, the fans of arguably one of the world''s most famous childless cat women: Taylor Swift.
"Don''t mind me, just enjoying life as a "miserable, childless cat-lady" amongst good company like Taylor Swift and our current Vice President," Meagan (@atlmeagsnow) shared on X with a selfie of her and her cat.
Pip (@pirateherojones) shared on X: "Miserable, childless cat lady and her son reporting for duty. #Kamala2024 #SwiftiesForHarris"
She shared a photo of her cat''s paw next to her wrist adorned with a Taylor Swift friendship bracelet.
Harris is not the only leading Democrat that Vance singled out in the Fox News interview. He also singled out Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Harris is stepmother to two children from her partner Doug Emhoff''s previous marriage. Buttigieg adopted two children with his husband, Chasten, in the time after Vance''s comments.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are approximately 23 million women in the United States aged 45-64 who do not have children.
There is a growing trend of Americans choosing not to have children. A recent Pew Research Center study found that the percentage of adults under 50 who are unlikely to have kids has increased from 37 percent in 2018 to 47 percent in 2023.
The growing trend of women without children is a testament to changing societal norms in the United States. As the number of childless women grows, they could have a substantial influence on the upcoming election.
Some women have used the TikTok sound to mobilize women to vote in the upcoming election.
Shannon (@shannonx323) from Dallas, Texas, shared a video of herself snuggling her gray tabby cat.
"#Childless cat ladies, who vote," she wrote as the text overlaying the video.
"See you at the polls #childlesscatladies," she said in the caption of the video, which garnered 61,100 views.
@shannonx323See you at the polls 😚#childlesscatladies
Vance''s sister has defended him amid the controversy, telling CNN in a statement that the senator is a "testament to the women in his life."
"The attacks from the media and Democrats that assume anything otherwise is vile," she said.
Meanwhile, Paul Begala, an ex-advisor to former President Bill Clinton, suggested on Thursday that Trump could ditch Vance for former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, who exited the presidential race earlier this year.
Newsweek reached out to the TikTok users mentioned in the piece for comment via TikTok.
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Lydia Patrick is a Newsweek Life and Trends Reporter based in London, focusing on emerging trends, human interest stories, and women''s issues. She previously uncovered a growing pattern of knife crime against women in the UK and worked on stories focusing on the dark side of medical tourism. She joined Newsweek in 2024, having previously worked at the Independent and South West News Service. Lydia holds a degree from the University of Bristol and a master''s in journalism from Sheffield University. Languages: English and Spanish.
You can contact her via email: l.patrick@newsweek.com
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