Jason Bateman Slammed for Crude Charli XCX Question About Having Kids

Jason Bateman found himself on the receiving end of plenty of negative commentary after he crudely hounded Charli XCX about her plans to start a family.

The Ozark star brought up family planning during the Monday, February 2, episode of his "SmartLess" podcast. Charli joined Bateman and co-hosts Sean Hayes and Will Arnett.

After Charli admitted she feels she "miss(ed) out on a lot of conflict" as an only child, Bateman asked, "Does that mean you would love to have more than one kid or would you like to have a kid that has the same sort of experience as you?"

Charli XCX isn't sure about having kids

The singer initially explained that she isn't sure she "really wants to have kids" but acknowledged that her feelings could change. Hayes agreed and noted, "I'd rather regret not having kids than have them and regret it later."

Charli also said she "loves the fantasy" of becoming a parent and that picking out a name for a child seems like the most "fun" part of the process. She then added, "That is exactly a sign to me as to why I should not have one."

Bateman appeared to pounce on her latter statement and pushed further. The actor, who has two children with his wife Amanda Anka, revealed that she initially didn't want children, either. "(She) did not want to have kids, so the story goes," he said. "And she said once we started going out, she was like, 'OK, I think I can have a kid with this guy.' So you might find somebody."

Charli noted that she's already married to 1975's George Daniel — and that's when some fans think Bateman went too far.

"I've got to read a newspaper one of these days," he joked, to which Charli answered, "That's OK. I knew immediately where you were going to go and how I was going to respond, so I was looking forward to it."

Bateman then added, "Maybe your next husband, you're gonna want to have kids with him."

Fans are criticizing Jason Bateman for what he said to Charli XCX

The exchange sparked strong reactions from fans who listened to the podcast episode. As one wrote on X, "incredible rough listening experience at one point jason bateman asks her how many kids she wants to have (bad enough) and then she’s like 'i don’t think i want kids' and he’s like 'well maybe you just need to find the right guy' and she’s like 'i’m married' and then silence."

Another person praised Charli for having a response ready. "Awkward power move disguised as curiosity; Jason Bateman got corrected by Charli xcx in public time," they wrote.

Charli and her husband got married in July 2025 after dating for around three years. The duo worked together on Charli's album Brat, which dominated charts last summer, and Charli oftens refers to her husband in her work and while performing onstage. They held a second wedding in Italy in September of the same year.

Related: Charli xcx Gives One Reason She Probably Won't Do James Bond