Selena Gomez jokes Steve Martin and Martin Short are ‘this far’ from being childless cat ladies at Emmys 2024

Selena Gomez, Steve Martin and Martin Short were the first presenters of the Emmys 2024, and their banter didn’t disappoint!

The “Only Murders in the Building” co-stars were visibly excited to announce the night’s first winner but not before throwing out insults at each other, but Selena’s joke took the cake!

While presenting the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (which went to Ebon Moss-Bachrach for his role in “The Bear”), Gomez, 32, lovingly trashed her co-stars, saying Martin, 79, and Short, 74, are “this far” from being childless cat ladies.

The trio could barely keep it together.

“The Emmy Awards! What a magical evening it’s been trying to remember people’s names,” Gomez teased. “And pretending that we’ve seen their shows,” Short interrupted. “And when I see an actor I don’t know, I just say, ‘I love your scene with Nicole Kidman,” Martin stated. “Nine times out of ten, I’m right!”

That’s when they turned the jokes on each other.

“And Steve, let me just say what an honor it is for me to be working with someone who looks like he’s fallen and can’t get up,” Short told Martin, to which the latter replied, “And let me say, what an honor it is to be working with someone who looks like a former women’s tennis champion.”

Selena, who had to pull herself together because she was laughing so hard, delivered the most iconic line.

“And let me say, what an honor it is to work with two guys who are this far away from being childless cat ladies,” she teased.

All three stars are nominated for an Emmy tonight.

Gomez is up for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, marking her first Emmy nomination ever. Martin and Short are competing against each other for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.

Selena’s childless cat lady reference wasn’t out of left field.

Former President Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance was the first to coin the now-viral phrase.

In a resurfaced clip from a 2021 interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson, the Republican vice presidential nominee claimed the Democratic Party was run by “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too.”

Several Americans took issue with the statement, including many favorite celebrities.

Jennifer Aniston hit back at Vance’s comment.

“I truly can’t believe that this is coming from a potential VP of the United States,” the 55-year-old “Friends” actress wrote on Instagram in July, shortly after the clip circulated.

“All I can say is… Mr Vance, I pray that your daughter is fortunate enough to bear children of her own one day.”

The 10-time Emmy nominee also brought Vance’s two-year-old daughter into her response.

“I hope she will not need to turn to IVF as a second option,” Aniston wrote. “Because you are trying to take that away from her, too.”

Gomez wasn’t the only celebrity to mention “childless cat ladies.”

“Murphy Brown” actress Candice Bergen, 78, also mocked the vice president nominee.

Speaking about her classic sitcom, Bergen said: “In one classic moment, my character was attacked by VP Dan Quayle when Murphy was pregnant and he decided to attack my character for being a single mother. Today a candidate would never attack a single mother so as they say, my work here is done. Meow.”

The 76th Emmy Awards — hosted by father-son duo Eugene Levy and Dan Levy — are all about nostalgia, so Bergen won’t be the only iconic TV star to hit the stage to honor their beloved sitcoms from decades ago.