Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
Anna Kendrick has shared the convincing reasons she doesn’t want kids – or cats.
The 39-year-old caused a stir when she revealed that she didn’t want to be a mother a few years ago. But her decision has had renewed attention after former president Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance called out “childless cat ladies”, prompting backlash from stars including Taylor Swift.
But Kendrick, who is promoting her new film Woman of the Hour, in which she plays the girlfriend of serial killer Rodney Alcala, says she isn’t interested in defending herself.
“I don’t ever think about having kids, so I guess I spend just as little time thinking about weaponising that,” she explained in an interview with The Guardian.
She insisted that any child she had would be “another kid that your kid is going to have to fight when the water wars come”.
“Here’s the best argument for why I don’t have kids,” said Kendrick, revealing she had recently fallen asleep to the sound of cats on TikTok.
“I thought: ‘I’d have an easier time falling asleep with the weight of a cat on me. But I’m not responsible enough to own a cat.
“Someone should really make a robot cat that does all the purring and the kneading.’ And then I was like: wait, I’m not even up to the ‘cat lady’ part! Why would anyone trust me with a kid?”
Kendrick appeared to find the backlash funny as she called it, “Anna Kendrick in ‘Doesn’t Want Children’ Shock!”
The actor is making her directorial debut with the thriller Woman of the Hour, which is based on the true story of serial killer Alcala.
The movie recounts the real events of the murderer (played by Daniel Zovatto), who appeared as a contestant on the popular game show The Dating Game, where he won a date with the episode’s bachelorette, Cheryl Bradshaw (Kendrick).
In the movie’s trailer Alcala introduces himself on the game show, telling Cheryl: “We’re gonna have a great time together.”
Alcala was an American serial killer and sex offender who was sentenced to death in California after being found guilty of committing five murders between 1977 and 1979.
While on death row, Alcala died of natural causes on July 24, 2021, at the age of 77.
