Jennifer Aniston vs. Bill O'Reilly: The Family Factor
Fox commentator slams actress over single motherhood quote; she responds.
Aug. 12, 2010 — -- There's one man who won't be sitting down for Jennifer Aniston's "Switch" next weekend:
The Fox News talking head took the actress to task this week on "The O'Reilly Factor," calling recent comments she made about single motherhood "destructive to our society."
And Aniston fired right back in comments to People magazine.
While promoting her upcoming movie "The Switch," about a single woman seeking a sperm donor, Aniston told reporters at a press conference in Los Angeles Sunday that "times have changed" when it comes to thinking about the traditional family.
"Women are realizing more and more that you don't have to settle. They don't have to fiddle with a man to have that child," she said. "They are realizing if it's that time in their life and they want this part they can do it with or without that."
She also challenged the idea that a single woman having a baby without a father is selfish.
"I don't think it's selfish," she said. "It's quite beautiful, because there are children that don't have homes that have a home and can be loved. And that's extremely important."
In O'Reilly's eyes, Aniston's comments make her a threat to the American family.
"She's throwing a message out to 12-year-olds and 13-year-olds that 'Hey, you don't need a guy. You don't need a dad.' That is destructive to our society," he said on Tuesday's "O'Reilly Factor."
Fox News contributor Margaret Hoover and Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson chimed in on the topic, agreeing with O'Reilly that teens and tweens can't understand the difference between a mature woman raising a child on her own (Aniston is 41) and a teen having a baby.
"She is glamorizing single parenthood," Carlson said.
Aniston's representative did not immediately return ABCNews.com's request for comment, but the actress fired back in a story posted this evening on People.com.
"Of course, the ideal scenario for parenting is obviously two parents of a mature age. Parenting is one of the hardest jobs on earth," she told People. "And, of course, many women dream of finding Prince Charming (with fatherly instincts), but for those who've not yet found their Bill O'Reilly, I'm just glad science has provided a few other options."
Jennifer Aniston Wants Kids
It seems that regardless of what O'Reilly thinks, and despite her single status, Brad Pitt's former flame is determined to have kids of her own one day.
"Yeah, I've said it years before and I still say it today," Aniston said Sunday, when asked if she wants to have a family.
As for artificial insemination, though:
"I don't have plans on that, no."