Country music star Miranda Lambert is wading into the "childfree" discourse and highlighting how life without children is helping her mentor the next generation of singers and musicians.
In an interview for the latest Dumb Blonde podcast episode, the 40-year-old discussed the freedom that comes with choosing not to be a mom, and how it has afforded her other opportunities that she either may not have had or would have been harder to obtain if she had decided to have children.
"Since I don't have children of my own, I want to use that part of what I've learned for younger generations, especially of artists because nobody tells you how this goes," Lambert said at the time. "Nobody sits there and gives you a handbook of, like, 'Well, when you make it to this level, this is what's gonna happen.'"
The singer went on to say that "just seeing the fire in the eyes of someone just starting out" is rejuvenating, and ends up reigniting "your fire" as a result of simply being around younger, hungrier newcomers.
"Being around that new fire and young people that are so hungry and so inspired is like, 'I want some of that,' you know?'" she continued, adding that new artists are her antidote to burnout.
"And I wanna give them some of the wisdom and some of the reminders [to] enjoy the ride," she said.
Women who either by chance or by choice do not have children have taken center stage in 2024 and as the nation nears this year's presidential election. The discourse hit a fever pitch after Senator J.D. Vance, the Republican nominee for vice president and running mate of former President Donald Trump, attacked childless women in and outside of the Democratic party.
"What I was basically saying is that we're effectively run in this country, via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs, by a bunch of childless cat ladies, who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they've made," Vance said n a newly resurfaced Fox News interview from 2021. "And so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too."
Vance doubled down on his comments, telling former Fox News host Megyn Kelly in a recent interview that it was "obviously a sarcastic comment" because he has "nothing against cats."
Vance's rhetoric prompted Jennifer Aniston to respond on Instagram, who posted via Instagram Stories that she "can't believe this is coming from a potential VP of the United States."
"All I can say is... Mr. Vance, I pray that your daughter is fortunate enough to bear children of her own one day," she continued. "I hope she will not need to turn to IVF as a second option. Because you are trying to take that away from her, too."
Aniston has spoken candidly about her experience with IVF in the past, telling Allure in 2022 that continuous media speculation that she has been pregnant over the years was extremely painful for her.
"I was going through IVF, drinking Chinese teas, you name it," she told the publication at the time. "I was throwing everything at it. I would have given anything if someone had said to me, 'Freeze your eggs. Do yourself a favor.' You just don't think it. So here I am today. The ship has sailed."
