How JD Vance's Sister Lindsay Really Felt About His 'Cat Lady' Controversy

Although JD Vance made several highly controversial statements throughout Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, none garnered quite as much fury as his infamous "childless cat lady" comment back in 2021. Speaking to Fox News during his Ohio Senate run, he proclaimed that the country was in shambles because people had handed the reins over to Democrats, corporate billionaires, and "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," (via YouTube). The "Hillbilly Elegy" author doubled down on the offensive statement by insinuating that high-profile Democrats like Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez weren't genuinely concerned about the future of the country because they didn't have kids. 

His comments resurfaced in 2024, triggering "Friends" star Jennifer Aniston's viral spat with JD Vance. In fact, Taylor Swift also used Vance's three simple words to end him in her public endorsement of Harris. Amidst all the backlash, Vance's sister, Lindsay Lewis, steadfastly defended him in a statement shared with CNN. "JD was raised by some of the strongest women I know and went on to marry an incredibly strong woman in Usha," she wrote, per Newsweek. "JD is a testament to the women in his life, and the attacks from the media and Democrats that assume anything otherwise is vile." Lewis notably wasn't the only family member who stood by Vance's side either. 

During an August 2024 appearance on Fox News, Usha Vance asserted that her beloved husband, JD Vance's, contentious "childless cat lady" remark was a harmless joke that only became controversial when people intentionally took it out of context to shame him. After pointing out that people in their own friend circle had dealt with fertility issues, she insisted that JD "would never, ever, ever want to say something to hurt someone who was trying to have a family, who really, was struggling with that." Usha also stressed that many people had valid reasons for deciding against having a family. Meanwhile, 2024 president-elect Donald Trump believed that his left-field VP pick's comments were entirely justified primarily because he's a family man himself.

Speaking to Fox News in July, the controversial politician argued, "He grew up in a very interesting family situation, and he feels family is good. And I don't think there's anything wrong in saying that," per the BBC. Ultimately, though, it seems like JD is the only one who wished he had done things slightly differently. In an October interview with the New York Times, the "Hillbilly Elegy" author acknowledged that hindsight had enabled him to understand that he should have chosen his words more carefully. 

Thus, he took another stab at the topic, warning, "Our country has become almost pathologically anti-child." To further make his point, JD admitted that he couldn't understand why people didn't want to bring a child into this world because they feared their future with climate change on the horizon. However, he also confusingly stated that he could empathize with those who chose not to have kids for "social reasons."