Emmy Presenter Candice Bergen Compares JD Vance’s “Childless Cat Ladies” Swipe To Dan Quayle’s Attack On ‘Murphy Brown’

Candice Bergen opened her appearance at the Emmys, to present the comedy actress category, with a comparison of JD Vance’s attack on “childless cat ladies” to then-Vice President Dan Quayle’s election year fight with Murphy Brown.

Bergen opened, “For 11 years, I had the tremendous privilege of playing the lead in a comedy series called Murphy Brown. I was surrounded by brilliant and funny actors. Had the best scripts to work with. And in one classic moment, my character was attacked by Vice President Dan Quayle when Murphy became pregnant and decided to raise the baby as a single mother.

“Oh, how far we’ve come,” she deadpanned.

Bergen added, “Today, a Republican candidate for vice president would never attack a woman for having kids. So as they say, My work here is done. Meow.”

Back in 1992, Quayle delivered a speech in which he said that it “doesn’t help matters when primetime TV has Murphy Brown, a character who supposedly epitomizes today’s intelligent, highly paid professional woman, mocking the importance of fathers by bearing a child alone and calling it just another lifestyle choice.”

Quayle’s comments became an election year issue, and a topic for the Emmys that year.

Brown’s mocking of Vance was just one reference to the Republican vice presidential nominee’s “childless cat lady” comment. Selena Gomez made a quip earlier in the telecast.