Quotes about mothers
page 3

Steve Ballmer photo

“My dad said, "What the heck is software?" and my mom said, "Why would a person ever need a computer?" They said, "OK, OK, we hear you, but if it doesn't work out, you'll go back to business school right?"”

Steve Ballmer (1956) American businessman who was the chief executive officer of Microsoft

And I said "Right," and I never came back.
CNBC: "How Steve Ballmer went from making $50,000 a year as an assistant at Microsoft to becoming a billionaire" https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/27/billionaire-steve-ballmer-started-out-making-only-50000-at-microsoft.html (27 July 2018)
2010s

Warren Farrell photo

“Notice that much of what men do is also done by single mothers so appreciating what men do also helps us appreciate what single moms do.”

Warren Farrell (1943) author, spokesperson, expert witness, political candidate

Women Can't Hear What Men Don't Say (2000)

Warren Farrell photo
Denise Richards photo
Stephenie Meyer photo
Phil Brooks photo

“So all you people here, despite evidence to the contrary, still choose to support a man that for all intents and purposes can't even support himself? OK, OK, so if you're a Jeff Hardy fan, if you're wearing a Jeff Hardy t-shirt, if you're wearing one of his diabolical little handsleeves, God forbid if you have your face painted, I want to see you stand up right now. I want to hear you make some noise! Go ahead, if you love and support Jeff Hardy, let the world know! (Crowd cheers, stands up.) Cameraman, cameraman get a good shot, get a real good shot at all these people. The truth is ladies and gentlemen, I don't blame you. I don't blame anybody here for supporting Jeff Hardy. The people I blame, are their parents. Or let's be realistic here, I said parents, what I should have said was parent. Because it's obviously a single parent situation, just like the way Jeff Hardy grew up. See you people are so concerned with the relationship with your children failing, just like your marriage did, that you acquiesce to their every whim and their every desire. I hate to tell you, this doesn't make you a good parent, Philadelphia, it makes you an enabler. (Crowd boos. Starts chanting for Hardy.) And the fact that you even let your children look up to a guy like Jeff Hardy, just shows that you really don't care what happens to them to begin with. It's a sad situation. So I don't blame anybody here or sitting at home watching this, that supports Jeff Hardy if they're under 17, because they're young and they're, well, they're impressionable. The real problem lies with the parents, it's the parents who don't make a conscious effort to sit their children down and teach them the proper way to live! (Crowd boos.) You see it starts with a Jeff Hardy t-shirt, next thing you know they're smoking a pack of cigarettes, after that, they're drinking a bottle of beer. Right after that they move on to shots of Jack Daniels, which is a gateway drug for marijuana…(Crowd pops for marijuana.) And the fact that you people sit here and cheer that goes to show that I'm telling the truth! How about some old fashioned street drugs? And before you know it they're digging through Mom's purse because they're addicted, they're addicted to prescription medication. (Crowd cheers, Punk mouths,"That's not cool!" to fans.) All of this can be stopped before it's too late! Parents, all you have to do is talk to your children. Sit them down and show them the way, tell them the words that can save their lives, show them that sometimes it's what you don't do that makes you who you are! For weeks, for weeks I've been saying to people like you, just say no. But today I think we should just say yes. Yes to the future of a straight edge, drug free America! Just say yes to the winner of tonight's match, just say yes, to the World Heavyweight Champion! Thank you!”

Phil Brooks (1978) American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist

At Night of Champions 2009
Friday Night SmackDown

Roger Ebert photo
Vanessa L. Williams photo
Taylor Caldwell photo
Warren Farrell photo
Pat Conroy photo

“Graduation was nice. General Clark liked it. The Board of Visitors liked it. Moms and Dads liked it. And the Cadets hated it, for without a doubt it ranked as the most boring event of the year. Thus it was in 1964 that the Clarey twins pulled the graduation classic. When Colonel Hoy called the name of the first twin, instead of walking directly to General Clark to receive his diploma, he headed for the line of visiting dignitaries, generals, and members of the Board of Visitors who sat in a solemn semi-circle around the stage. He shook hands with the first startled general, then proceeded to shake hands and exchange pleasantries with every one on the stage. He did this so quickly that it took several moments for the whole act to catch on. When it finally did, the Corps went wild. General Clark, looking like he had just learned the Allies had surrendered to Germany, stood dumbfounded with Clarey number one's diploma hanging loosely from his hand; then Clarey number two started down the line, repeating the virtuoso performance of Clarey number one, as the Corps whooped and shouted their approval. The first Clarey grabbed his diploma from Clark and pumped his hand vigorously up and down. Meanwhile, his brother was breezing through the hand-shaking exercise. As both of them left the stage, they raised their diplomas above their heads and shook them like war tomahawks at the wildly applauding audience. No graduation is remembered so well.”

Source: The Boo (1970), p. 33

Eminem photo
Marissa Mayer photo

“You can be good at technology and like fashion and art. You can be good at technology and be a jock. You can be good at technology and be a mom. You can do it your way, on your terms.”

Marissa Mayer (1975) American business executive and engineer, former ceo of Yahoo!

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/234222.

MF Doom photo
Tim O'Brien photo
Richard Rumelt photo
Taryn Manning photo
James Comey photo
Kirsten Dunst photo
Joe Biden photo
Herman Cain photo
Alison Bechdel photo
Phil Brooks photo

“Punk: Wow, everybody, it's John Cena. He comes out here every Monday night, he's excitable, he throws his hat at somebody, everybody loves it. I am so impressed at how you do that. You get all these people to believe you're that friendly, smiling, everyday man, when I know the truth. And the truth, John Cena, is you're thoughtless, you're heartless, and above all else, you are dishonest. I'm sure there's millions of people worldwide, including yourself, that would love to believe this is over a spilled diet soda, but John, this goes way beyond my spilled diet soda. Yeah. John, you were fired from the WWE. You were gone. You gave a very tear-inducing speech in the middle of the ring about how you finally get to see your mom and hang out with your little brother, and you said you were gonna go away. You were gonna be a man of your way, but what happened? You came back later that night, and then you came back the next week, and then you came back the next week, showing all of these people who aren't intelligent to see through your facade what I have known all along—that your word is absolutely worthless. And then there's TLC, you have the man beaten. Wade Barrett, a very tough individual, and you have him beat in a chairs match, but that's not good enough for you. You don't take the high ground, you can't walk off into the sunset with your victory; you drag the man off to the side of the stage and you drop fifteen steel chairs on him, and I wanna know exactly why you think that's acceptable behavior. I wanna know why you think it's okay to show up the next night on Raw and humiliate the poor guy…
Cena: That is balderdash! Fifteen steel chairs? That's insane. It was 23 steel chairs. And in case you forgot, Wade Barrett and the Nexus gave me about five thousand beat-downs, made me their personal slave, and ended my career.
Punk: You wanna talk about ended careers, you hypocrite? This is exactly what I'm talking about. You ended the career of my good friend Dave Batista. John! John, look at me when I'm talking to you. This is a reoccurring pattern with you. Once again, you have the man beaten—last man standing, he verbally submits, how humiliating, the match is won. But, no, you AA him off a car through the very steel ramp that I'm sitting on, which facilitated the end of his career. Now we'll talk about Vickie Guerrero. I'm surprised the lovely Vickie Guerrero doesn't up and quit based on all the abuse you heap on her. It's not just the physical things to the Wade Barretts and the Dave Batistas, but it's the name-calling, it's the mental abuse to somebody as gorgeous and beautiful as Vickie Guerrero.
Cena: "It's the this… it's the that." Okay, CM Punk is gonna play Mr. Fingerpointer. Well…1.—Dave Batista broke my neck; 2.—He showed up on Raw the next night and quit on his own terms. And C—I didn't just single out Vickie Guerrero. In case you haven't been watching for the past… eight years, I talk about everybody. Uh… Michael Cole. Michael Cole has an anonymous fetish with Justin Bieber and has the word "The Miz" man-scaped right below his belly button. Me! Look at me. I look like the crazy sex child of the Incredible Hulk and Grimace. And then there's you.
Punk: Yeah, and then there's me, who happens to not be laughing. I don't know if you noticed that. You're not funny.”

Phil Brooks (1978) American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist

December 27, 2010
WWE Raw

Rihanna photo

“They'd complain to my other neighbor, who was very close to my mom, so we always got the message: I'm too loud. But we didn't really care. They can't tell me what to do in my house!”

Rihanna (1988) Barbadian singer, songwriter, and actress

On being scolded by her neighbors in Barbados for singing too loudly in the shower. Allure magazine, January 2008.

Sarah Palin photo

“I love those hockey moms. You know, they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.”

Sarah Palin (1964) American politician

2008, 2008 Republican National Convention

Nicholas Sparks photo
Moby photo
Kathleen Hanna photo
Melania Trump photo
Vivek Wadhwa photo

“It's a shame that pantyless party girls get more attention than the real heroes, the nurses and teachers and moms.”

Laura Penny (1975) Canadian journalist

Source: More Money than Brains (2010), Chapter six, More is Less, p. 183

Britney Spears photo

“Oh, I've wept. Yeah, I've definitely wept just with the world, you know, how judgmental they are. You know what, I know I'm a good mom.”

Britney Spears (1981) American singer, dancer and actress

Matt Lauer interview http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13347509/page/4/, MSNBC (14 June 2006)

Warren Farrell photo
Heidi Klum photo

“They're photographs by Adam Fuss. He's an artist. They are beautiful, artistic photos - more silhouettes than anything else. It's not like, "Hey, Mom and Dad are naked, come check it out!" But if I go to the bathroom and my kid walks in, I'm not going to be like, "Oh my God! Close the door!"”

Heidi Klum (1973) German model, television host, businesswoman, fashion designer, television producer, and actress

They see their parents naked all the time. We are not ashamed.
Admitting that there are nude photographs of herself and Seal hanging in their bedroom and bathroom. Quoted by Jennifer Weiner in InStyle, February 2010.

Mitt Romney photo

“I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country. I have since the time that my Mom took that position when she ran in 1970 as a U. S. Senate candidate. I believe that since Roe v. Wade has been the law for 20 years we should sustain and support it.”

Mitt Romney (1947) American businessman and politician

United States Senatorial debate, October 1994. http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/07/03/clarity_sought_on_romneys_abortion_stance/?page=full
1994 United States Senate campaign

Warren Farrell photo

“Implicit in the Hollywood formula of mom-by-option and dad-by-default is mom never at fault…to a fault.”

Warren Farrell (1943) author, spokesperson, expert witness, political candidate

Source: Father and Child Reunion (2001), p. 93.

Libba Bray photo

“I'm related to Davy Crockett on my mom's side. Honest.”

Libba Bray (1964) American teen writer

Twenty-One Things You Don't Know About Me

Lisa Wilcox photo
Christopher Titus photo
Rick Santorum photo
Christopher Titus photo
George W. Bush photo
Angus Scrimm photo
Ornette Coleman photo
Mitch Fatel photo
Chris Cornell photo
Denise Scott Brown photo
Alison Bechdel photo
David Shuster photo

“There's just something a little bit unseemly to me that Chelsea's out there calling up celebrities, saying support my mom and, apparently she's also calling these super delegates.”

David Shuster (1967) American television journalist

David Shuster: Chelsea Being "Pimped Out?", Feb 7, 2008 ( YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIxgw04Y0Fc): On Chelsea Clinton campaigning for her mother.
On MSNBC

Francis Escudero photo
Arlo Guthrie photo
Rick Perry photo
Gillian Anderson photo

“If I chose to have a nanny, I'd be able to pay to have a nanny - a lot of women don't have that opportunity. I don't feel like I'm a working single mom, because I have that option that a lot of people don't have.”

Gillian Anderson (1968) American-British film, television and theatre actress, activist and writer

Alasdair Ferguson (June 7, 2002) "As The X-Files ends, I realise how much", The Express.
2000s

George Carlin photo
Jesse Ventura photo
Harry Browne photo
Michelle Obama photo

“To Mom, Dad, Craig and all of my special friends: Thank-you for loving me and always making me feel good about myself.”

Michelle Obama (1964) lawyer, writer, wife of Barack Obama and former First Lady of the United States

" Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community http://pt.scribd.com/doc/2305083/Princeton-Educated-Blacks-and-the-Black-Community", senior thesis, Princeton University (1985), dedication
1980s

Shraddha Kapoor photo

“I am a die hard fan of dancing and would take my dad's clothes and my mom's clothes and dance in front of the mirror. I loved my dad's clothes as they had a lot of glitter in them. My whole family speaks in this sing song way and, for a short period of time, I would practice these air hostess speeches. While my dad was comfortable with me being an actor, the only thing he said no was to becoming an air hostess.”

Shraddha Kapoor (1987) Indian film actress & Singer

I was most upset with the way people were talking about my dad: Shraddha via The Times of India (April 21, 2013) http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news-interviews/I-was-most-upset-with-the-way-people-were-talking-about-my-dad-Shraddha/articleshow/19649087.cms

Pete Seeger photo
Valerie Jarrett photo

“Michelle was so mature beyond her years, so thoughtful and perceptive. She really prodded me about what the job would be like because she had lots of choices. I offered it to her on the spot, which was totally inappropriate because I should have talked to the mayor first. But I just knew she was really special.
Barack never grills. That's part of what is so effective about him: He puts you completely at ease, and the next thing you know he's asking more and more probing questions and gets you to open up and reflect a little bit. That night we talked about his childhood compared to my childhood and realized we both had rather…unusual childhoods.
Married in 1983, separated in 1987, and divorced in 1988. Enough said. He was a physician. He passed away. I want to say in about 1991.
We grew up together. We were friends since childhood. In a sense, he was the boy next door. I married without really appreciating how hard divorce would be.
I have to tell you: My daughter is in seventh heaven about me being in Vogue. Nothing else I have done has fazed her at all. But this! She's like, 'Oh, Mom. You don't understand. This is really big.'
I have never heard him yell, Ever. Not once in seventeen years. He's not a yeller.
Because my dad worked at the university, he could swing by and take Laura to school and pick her up from her first day of nursery school until the day she graduated from high school. They would often have breakfast and have these wonderful conversations.”

Valerie Jarrett (1956) Chicago lawyer, businesswoman, civic leader; senior advisor to U.S. Senator Barack Obama

September 2008 interview with Vogue https://web.archive.org/web/20080930190831/http://www.style.com/vogue/feature/2008_Oct_Valerie_Jarrett//

Natalia Poklonskaya photo

“My daughter looks at these pictures every day. She happily tells me, 'Mom, you’re becoming an anime heroine in Japan,' which of course is very exciting for her. As for myself, though, I'm too busy to really pay much attention to the drawings.”

Natalia Poklonskaya (1980) Prosecutor of the Republic of Crimea

Of the numerous cartoons of her appearing in Japanese newspapers.
As quoted in GMA News, 28 March 2014 http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/354509/scitech/socialmedia/comely-crimean-prosecutor-becomes-japanese-cartoon-sensation

Nicholas Sparks photo

“My mom used to tell me that whatever you do, marry someone who loves you more than you love him.”

Nicholas Sparks (1965) American writer and novelist

Emma Harris, Chapter 19, p. 202
2000s, The Guardian (2003)

Margaret Cho photo
Kent Hovind photo

“God's commandments are not grievous. God put them in the garden, said "You can eat of any tree except that one tree, The Knowledge of Good and Evil." It's real simple, Adam. Enjoy the garden, have lots of kids, and don't learn about evil. […] Parents, don't teach your kids about all the evil things. Don't have drug education classes where you show them, "Hey, this is marijuana. This is how you smoke it. Now don't you do that." Duh. Don't put them in sex ed classes in seventh grade, it's a plumbing class at that time. Don't do that, okay? Let them be ignorant. Let them learn it from mom and dad, not from some heathen, okay? It's real simple Adam. Enjoy the world and have lots of kids and don't learn about evil. Don't learn all that stuff. The Lord said, "Hey, have you eaten off that tree I told you not to eat from?" God is not asking for information. He's asking for a confession. And the man said, "The woman (he passed the buck) whom thou gavest to be with me. Now God, this is really your fault, you know. If you hadn't given her to me I wouldn't have this problem." He said to the woman, "Have you done this?" She said, "Well, the snake that you made…." We still do the same thing, nothing changes, okay? Fear God, keep his commandments. Just like the taking of life is very important in any culture. Murder is serious. Giving life is important. That's why God put certain rules down for reproduction, okay? Follow his rules. "Thou shalt not commit adultery. Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge." Don't even look and lust or you've committed adultery already in your heart. By the way, ladies, that's why it's important how you dress, okay? My daddy always said, "If you're not in business, don't advertise."”

Kent Hovind (1953) American young Earth creationist

Women should dress in modest apparel. That's what the Bible says, alright.
Creation seminars (2003-2005), The dangers of evolution

George W. Bush photo
Shraddha Kapoor photo

“I'm a complete Marathi mulgi, My mom’s a Maharashtrian and my maternal grandparents stay close by. Thanks to that, right from my eating habits to my mannerisms, my upbringing has been completely Maharashtrian. I'm also fluent in Marathi.”

Shraddha Kapoor (1987) Indian film actress & Singer

I’m playing a complete marathi mulgi: Shraddha Kapoor via Hindustan Times (August 14, 2012) http://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/i-m-playing-a-complete-marathi-mulgi-shraddha-kapoor/article1-913424.aspx#sthash.V4X2S29m.dpuf

Beyoncé photo
Megan Mullally photo
Margaret Cho photo
Rihanna photo
John Updike photo
Bellamy Young photo
Warren Farrell photo
Michelle Obama photo
Warren Farrell photo
Rick Santorum photo

“We say to Mom that you tell us the wrong name, and we'll bring that guy in and we'll do a blood test and that's not Dad, you lose your welfare benefits. You lose your welfare benefits… Not till you tell us another name, but till we find out who Dad is, we establish it.”

Rick Santorum (1958) American politician

New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania event, , quoted in * 2012-03-18
Rick Santorum To Single Mothers: Government Paternity Tests Or No Welfare
Jason
Cherkis
The Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/08/rick-santorum-single-mothers-unwed-moms_n_1333302.html

Queen Latifah photo
Denise Richards photo

“I'm in a no-win situation. If I have my kids in the show, I'm exploiting them. If I don't, people will think I'm not a hands-on mom.”

Denise Richards (1971) American actress and model

On having her young daughters on her TV program
Red Book interview

Gwyneth Paltrow photo

“I've learned so much from being a mom about the kind of person I want to be, the kind of woman I want to be. Motherhood has taught me mindfulness. If you just parent on instinct, you'll screw your kid up for life. You have to be so mindful.”

Gwyneth Paltrow (1972) American actress, singer, and food writer

Interview with Gwyneth Paltrow, Good Housekeeping http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/family/celebrity-interviews/gwyneth-paltrow-interview-country-strong (2010)

Christian Serratos photo
Hillary Clinton photo
Christie Brinkley photo
Will Arnett photo
Jayde Nicole photo
Sherman Alexie photo
Bernie Sanders photo
Hilary Duff photo
Warren Farrell photo
Joseph Gordon-Levitt photo

“My dad never blew anything up, but he probably had friends who did. He and my mom have always preached that the pen is mightier than a Molotov cocktail.”

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (1981) American actor, director, producer, and writer

The New York Times, March 25, 2007.

Michelle Obama photo
Kelly Osbourne photo

“Mom, I have something to tell you. My thong, is so far up my crack right now.”

Kelly Osbourne (1984) English singer-songwriter, actress, television presenter and fashion designer

The Osbournes