Actor Jason Bateman faced backlash for his ‘gross’ line of questioning towards ‘Apple’ singer Charli XCX regarding her desire for children during an interview on his celebrity podcast SmartLess.
The 33-year-old British singer appeared on the podcast, which also features actors Will Arnett and Sean Hayes, to discuss her soundtrack for Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights and a new mockumentary about her Brat world tour.
Bateman, 57, seemed to have limited knowledge about the Grammy-winning artist or her 2024 album. The album gained attention after Charli announced to America that the Democrat candidate for president, Kamala Harris, was ‘brat’.
This cultural reference seemed to escape the older hosts, who were unaware of her latest album and did not know Charli had married The 1975‘s drummer George Daniel last year.
Bateman made an awkward misstep by asking Charli how many children she wanted.
Charli XCX, whose real name is Charlotte Aitchison, has been open about her thoughts on the subject. She explores societal expectations and her personal feelings about having children in her song ‘I think about it all the time’ from the Brat album.
In response to Bateman’s question, Charli said, “I actually don’t really want to have kids.”
The Arrested Development star shared that his wife Amanda Anka initially did not want children but later had Francesca Nora Bateman in 2009 and Maple Sylvie Bateman in 2012.
He further misplaced his words by suggesting Charli ‘might find somebody’ and change her mind.
“I’m married,” Charli simply replied to the host, who was evidently unaware of her marital status.
Attempting to recover from the blunder, Bateman admitted he needed to ‘pick up a newspaper’, but listeners of the SmartLess podcast were not impressed by his probing into Charli’s personal choices.
One social media user labeled the question ‘disgusting’ and criticized its sexist undertones, stating: “If a woman says she doesn’t wanna have kids, THEN THAT’S THE END OF THE STORY. Saying ‘maybe you’ll change your mind when you get married…’ is GROSS.”
Others were frustrated by the hosts’ lack of knowledge about Charli, whose Brat album sold over one million units in the US. One listener commented: “This just p*ssed me off… pressuring her without even knowing s**t about her.”
However, some regular listeners of the podcast noted that the hosts’ lack of familiarity with the guests is part of the show’s format, where one presenter introduces a mystery guest that the others are unlikely to know.
A listener remarked: “It’s called SmartLess for a reason. Only one of them knows the guest that’s coming that day. It’s a comedy podcast. It’s not that serious.”
LADbible Group has contacted representatives of Bateman for a statement.