{"id":305583,"date":"2026-02-19T05:57:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T05:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/305583\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T05:57:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T05:57:11","slug":"jason-bateman-addresses-backlash-over-viral-interview-with-charli-xcx-about-not-wanting-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/305583\/","title":{"rendered":"Jason Bateman addresses backlash over viral interview with Charli XCX about not wanting children"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jason Bateman<\/a> has addressed the backlash he received<\/a> following an awkward on-air exchange with singer Charli XCX<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In early February, the actor-turned-podcast host grilled the Brat artist, 33, on her plans to have children, suggesting she may one day change her mind \u2013 if she met the right person.\ufeff<\/p>\n

After learning Charli was in fact recently married, Bateman \ufeff57, quipped back, “Maybe your next husband”, drawing criticism from “disgusted” fans<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Want the official inside scoop on MAFS, unfiltered and unseen? Watch After The Dinner Party here<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"JasonJason Bateman has addressed the backlash he received over an awkward on-air exchange with singer Charli XCX.. (Getty)<\/p>\n

When asked about the now-viral moment, Bateman told \ufeffThe Hollywood Reporter<\/a>: “We were having a great conversation about her life growing up as an only child<\/a>. It seemed like a very natural follow-up to that.<\/p>\n

“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.”<\/p>\n

It was during an appearance on SmartLess,<\/a> the podcast Bateman co-hosts with fellow actors Sean Hayes and Will Arnett, that Charli was asked how many children she wanted.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Rumer Willis doesn’t ‘live off a trust fund’ or get money from parents<\/a><\/p>\n

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READ MORE:\ufeff Former Disney child star shares tearful health update<\/a><\/p>\n

\"CharliThe singer said “maybe [she’s] not ready to have kids”. (Getty)<\/p>\n

“I actually don’t really want to have kids,” the three-time Grammy winner said at the time.<\/p>\n

The singer mentioned she’d avoided “a lot of conflict” throughout her upbringing as an only-child.<\/a> \ufeff<\/p>\n

In response, Bateman inquired: “Would [you] love to have more than one kid or would you like to have a kid that has the same sort of experience as you?”<\/p>\n

While friendly, Charli was quick to shut down that line of questioning.<\/p>\n

\ufeffReferring to his own relationship, Bateman suggested her views might change as she “might find somebody” with whom to have children in future as his wife did with him.<\/p>\n

The Arrested Development<\/a> star however, did not know Charli had recently tied the knot with The 1975 drummer George Daniel.<\/a><\/p>\n

At the time, the Apple songstress quickly clarified she’d already gotten married mid-way through last year, \ufeffbut Bateman insisted she “hadn’t let him finish” his train of thought, adding “maybe your next husband, you’re gonna want to have kids with him.”<\/p>\n

The episode subsequently cut to a commercial break \u2013 with listeners then going on to slam the uncomfortable back-and-forth<\/a> in the podcast’s YouTube comments.<\/p>\n

\"AmandaBateman and wife Amanda Anka have two daughters. (Getty)\"GeorgeCharli XCX said she and her husband, The 1975 drummer George Danie,l “don’t really want to have kids.” (WireImage for Vanity Fair)<\/p>\n

But as The Hollywood Reporter pointed out, the SmartLess format, where two of the three hosts have no idea who the guest is before the taping, was bound to see such an awkward exchange happen.<\/p>\n

It was clear Charli was not Bateman’s guest, with the actor knowing very little about the popstar.<\/p>\n

A laughing Bateman owned up to the error at the time, adding, “I’ve got to read a newspaper one of these days.”<\/p>\n

\"Olivia<\/a><\/p>\n

Inside the remarkable rise of our next-gen pop princesses<\/p>\n

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE<\/a>: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jason Bateman has addressed the backlash he received following an awkward on-air exchange with singer Charli XCX. In…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":305584,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[321,93,61,60],"class_list":{"0":"post-305583","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-celebrities","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=305583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305583\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/305584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=305583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=305583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=305583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}