A seemingly awkward interview moment in which Jason Bateman asked Charli XCX about having children on the latest episode of his podcast SmartLess, then told her that she might change her mind about not wanting kids, has come under fire on social media. The Grammy winner stopped by the podcast to promote his new A24 movie, “The Moment.”
The topic of children came up, with Bateman, who has two children with his wife Amanda Anka, asking Charlie: “Do you want more than one child, or do you want an only child who has the same experiences as you, so you can raise and protect him?”
The pop star responded, “Actually, I don’t want to have kids,” to which co-host Sean Hayes responded, “Why not? Wait, why? I know that’s none of my business, but…”
Hayes said she didn’t want to have kids either, explaining, “I want kids…I’ve said it a million times, but it’s better to regret not having kids and then have kids and regret it later. You never know what you’re going to get.”
“That might change,” Charlie said of her stance on motherhood. “I love the fantasy of having kids, like naming them. It sounds like a lot of fun, but the reason why I’d rather not have kids is that I feel like that’s exactly what’s been assigned to me. The fact that[naming your kids]feels like the coolest part of it.”
Bateman then told Charlie that he might change his mind, drawing from personal experience: “So, I guess I’m back to half-heartedly praising myself here, but my wife didn’t want to have kids, so the story goes. She said that once we started dating, she thought, ‘Okay, I think I could have kids with this guy.'” Then maybe you’ll find someone. ”
“Well, I’m married,” Charli told Bateman, referring to her 1975 marriage to band member George Daniel.
“You’ll have to read the newspaper eventually,” Bateman replied wisely, before joking, “Your next husband probably wants to have kids.”
The conceit of the “SmartLess” podcast, hosted by Bateman, Hayes and Will Harnett, is that one of the hosts brings up an interview topic without telling the other hosts. That means at least two of each episode’s co-hosts are unavailable to prepare for the interview or research the subject of the interview. That might explain why Bateman doesn’t know Charlie is married.
Variety has reached out to Batman’s representatives for comment.
As reported by The Independent, social media users and Charli XCX fans were quick to defend the pop star over Bateman’s comments. The interview was branded “disgusting” and “incredibly rough listening” by X users, with one Reddit user commenting: “Why on earth does society continue to put so much pressure on women, especially when it comes to having children?”
