We already know from her role as Cruella de Vil that Glenn Close is not a dog person, but her status as a self-described cat lady has somehow angered more people than a Dalmatian fur coat ever could.
The actress, who starred in the 2020 film adaptation of JD Vance’s book Hillbilly Elegy, has ruffled feathers (and cat fur) with a new social media post calling out the author’s previous comments about our feline friends.
Last month, internet sleuths resurfaced a previous interview in which Trump’s running mate (and alleged couch lover) Vance claimed that the U.S. was being run by a “bunch of childless cat ladies.” Not only are the comments an affront to my TikTok algorithm and its consistent supply of adorable cat videos, but they also caught the ire of Taylor Swift fans, Jennifer Aniston, and legions of other cat ladies on social media.
Vance should’ve known that if there’s any community more powerful than cat ladies, it’s Swifties who also own cats, but they aren’t the only ones who’ve reacted to his comments. Close — who portrayed Vance’s grandmother, Mawmaw, in the Netflix retelling of his memoir — took to Instagram to share a message featuring Eve, her adorable and camera-ready cat.
“Eve would have left a bleeding mouse head in the bed of anyone who criticized any kind of lady with a CAT!” Close wrote, proving that you shouldn’t mess with cats unless you want to get scratched. Naturally, Close’s post sent a bunch of Vance and Trump supporters into a meltdown, perhaps even more so than that time when they were branded “weird” (although it kind of proves that point).
“You’re just another clueless zillionaire who just votes for liberals because it’s trendy,” one user wrote in the caption, though we’re not quite sure whether they’re talking about Close or Eve. Others wrote that Close is just one of those “Hollywood elites,” and elsewhere claimed that “my cats and I will be a lot safer with Donald Trump as President.” Perhaps the only bridge that connects the political divide — beyond the universal disdain for the movie Cats — is actual cats.
In any case, it isn’t the first time the actress, who was nominated for both an Oscar and a Razzie Award for her role in Hillbilly Elegy, has taken a cat-clawed swipe at Vance. Earlier this month, Close shared a meme criticizing Vance’s comments from a reproductive rights angle, while also getting a cat lady reference in there for extra measure. It goes without saying, but that sent Vance supporters into a tizzy, too.
The word is still out on what cats themselves have to say about Vance’s comments, perhaps something like “reow?”