The actress Candice Bergen was summoned to the Emmys this year to present an award. She also landed a political jab.
Bergen is perhaps best known for playing the titular character in “Murphy Brown.” In her brief remarks, she recalled that her character, an unmarried news anchor, was rebuked by Vice President Dan Quayle in 1992 after she gave birth to a baby boy.
The criticism from Quayle came during his unsuccessful re-election campaign with President George H.W. Bush. While Quayle was talking about family values, he said that Bergen’s character was “mocking the importance of fathers, by bearing a child alone, and calling it just another ‘lifestyle choice.’”
Bergen won five Emmys for her work on “Murphy Brown.” At Sunday’s ceremony, she recalled the kerfuffle with Quayle, which became front-page news, and offered a quip.
“Oh, how far we’ve come,” Bergen said. “Today, a Republican candidate for vice president would never attack a woman for having kids.”
It was a thinly veiled reference to Senator JD Vance of Ohio, former President Donald J. Trump’s running mate, who has complained that the United States is being run by Democrats, specifically “a bunch of childless cat ladies.”
Aware of this, Bergen continued, “So, as they say, my work here is done.”
Then she added some onomatopoeia: “Meow.”
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
