Charli XCX Reveals Her Stance On Motherhood & Jason Bateman Had The Worst Reaction
Charli XCX and Jason Bateman’s hard-to-listen to conversation about having kids on the SmartLess podcast is getting some harsh reactions online.
The 33-year-old singer is a woman of child-bearing age, so naturally, she was asked about her family planning in a new interview. *Sigh.* After listening to Charli discussed her experience as an only child, Bateman chimed in to ask, “Does that mean that you would love to have more than one kid?” Presumptuous, to say the least.
“I actually don’t really want to have kids,” Charli responded. Bateman’s co-host, Sean Hayes, quickly jumped in to ask, adding, “You don’t? Wait, why?”
Charli did admit that her choice “could change,” and added, “I love the fantasy of having a child like naming it – it sounds so fun – but I’m like, that is exactly a sign to me as to why I should not have one.”
The line of questioning from the hosts continued to push the matter, instead of accepting her answer and moving on. Bateman mentioned that his wife, Amanda Anka, initially didn’t want kids but changed her mind. “Once we started going out, she was like, ‘OK, I think I can have a kid with this guy,’” Bateman, who shares two kids with Anka, continued.
“So you might find somebody,” Bateman said, insinuating that Charli’s choice might be altered by a romantic partner.
“Well, I’m married,” Charli chimed in, referencing her husband, George Daniel, whom she wed in 2025.
“I got to read a newspaper one of these days,” he joked, adding, “Your next husband, you’re gonna want kids.” There’s nothing like a stranger telling a grown woman what will make her change her mind about kids and completely dismissing her experiences and opinions on the matter.
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On X, people were criticizing Bateman’s handling of this entire conversation. “I LOVE smartless but why why WHY does Jason Bateman ask every young woman if/when they want kids ???? why has no one told him maybe don’t do that,” one person wrote. Someone else quipped, “So, Jason Bateman is actually like his character in Juno.”
In a previous interview with Rolling Stone UK, Charli XCX chatted about how weird it was for her when one of her close friends became a mom. “It was crazy seeing her standing in the same clothes she’s always worn, but now she has this completely different perspective on life than I do,” she told the outlet. “She’s not enforcing that on me; it’s just a fact. She’s not alive for the same reasons that I am now.”
It made her question her feelings on having kids, asking herself things like, “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,” she added. “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.”
It’s not so easy to just have a baby as a pop star. “My circumstance involves me making a decision and being like, ‘I’m gonna come off my birth control. I’m not gonna tour. I’m going to see what George wants to do, and then we’re gonna try for a baby.’” All that’s possible, of course, but only if she wanted to. “I feel like a kid; I don’t feel like I can make that decision,” she added.
It’s such a personal choice — and a man telling her that she should have kids with her “next husband,” definitely won’t help make that choice any easier.
Before you go, check out what these celebrities had to say about being child-free.