When Candice Bergen took the stage at the Emmy Awards tonight, she snuck in a pointed jab at vice presidential candidate JD Vance. The actress, who presented the award for best lead actress in a comedy series, introduced the category by recalling her own time as a lead actress in comedy. Murphy Brown as the title character.
“I was surrounded by brilliant and funny actors, had the best scripts to work with, and in a 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,” she said, referring to then-Vice President Quayle’s 1992 speech in which he criticized Bergen’s character for choosing to have a child at her age and outside of marriage.
Bergen continued, “Oh, how far we’ve come. Today, a Republican vice presidential candidate would never attack a woman for having children, so my work here, as they say, is done,” before adding, “meow,” likely a reference to Vance’s statement about the “childless cat ladies” that has gotten him in trouble for weeks.
Bergen’s words were well received by the audience, who laughed and cheered at her words, including Jon Stewart, who leaned forward in his seat with laughter.
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And of course, her comment sparked plenty of reactions from viewers at home. One X-user tweeted, “Candace (sic) Bergen hasn’t lost her comedic timing #Emmys,” while another wrote, “I hate awards shows but inject that Candace (sic) Bergen ‘meow’ into my blood.”
Meanwhile, NRP television critic Eric Deggans declared Bergen’s line the “best” of the night, writing: “Candice Bergen takes the stage at the #Emmys to deliver the best line of the night, alluding to Dan Quayle attacking her Murphy Brown for being a single mother: ‘Today, a Republican presidential candidate would never attack a woman for having children. So, as they say, my work is done…'”
The 2024 Emmys will air live on ABC. Check out our constantly updated list of Emmys 2024 winners to see who’s taking home awards tonight.
