Actor Jason Bateman has addressed the intense criticism he received after suggesting that the married singer Charli XCX might change her mind about not wanting children if she met the right man.
In a profile with The Hollywood Reporter, the Ozark and Arrested Development star was asked for his reaction to the online backlash over the interview on his SmartLess podcast.
“We were having a great conversation about her life growing up as an only child. It seemed like a very natural follow-up to that,” Bateman said.
“That’s all it was. I don’t really have much [else] to say about it, except that it is always interesting and valuable and educational to hear people’s thoughts, reactions and feelings to anything I say or do.”
Charli XCX appeared on SmartLess, also hosted by fellow Arrested Development star Will Arnett and Will & Grace’s Sean Hayes, earlier this month to promote her mockumentary The Moment.
The topic of having children came up, with Bateman asking the British singer whether she would like to have more than one child or raise a single child like she was.
“I actually don’t really want to have kids,” she said. “I love the fantasy of having a child—like naming it sounds so fun. But I’m like, that is exactly a sign to me as to why I should not have one. The fact that that feels like the coolest part about it, I’m like, maybe I’m not ready.”
Bateman, who has two children, then suggested that she might change her mind one day if she met the right person, just as his wife did when they met.
“So you might find somebody,” Bateman said.
“Well, I’m married, so...” Charli XCX replied.
Bateman quickly tried to laugh off putting his foot in his mouth by adding, “Oh. I gotta read a newspaper one of these days.”
“Maybe your next husband, you’re going to want kids. Let me finish, Charli,” he added.
Charli XCX married George Daniel, drummer for The 1975, in 2025. The 33-year-old also opened up about her thoughts on motherhood in her song “I Think About It All the Time,” taken from her global smash-hit album Brat.
Speaking to Rolling Stone UK before the release of Brat, Charli XCX said: “Am I less of a woman if I don’t have a kid? Will I feel like I’ve missed out on my purpose in life? I know we’re not supposed to say that, but it’s this biological and social programming.”
“There’s a lot of pressure on women to not talk about that stuff super openly, especially not in pop music or in music generally; we’re supposed to be sexy and free and fun and wild,” she added.
