UPDATE 2/18/2026 at 10:28 a.m. — Jason Bateman is addressing the backlash surrounding a “Smartless” podcast interview where he asked Charli XCX about having children someday.
“We were having a great conversation about her life growing up as an only child. It seemed like a very natural follow-up to that,” Bateman, 57, said of the podcast episode during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published on Wednesday, February 18. “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.”
Bateman’s response comes weeks after he caused a stir by telling Charli, 33, that she “might find somebody” who would change her mind about not wanting to have children. When Charli told Bateman that she is married, he responded, “Maybe [with] your next husband, you’re going to want kids.”
Original story continues below:
Charli XCX is shedding light on her decision to potentially forego motherhood while opening up about her upbringing as an only child.
“I don’t have any siblings. I actually think not having siblings actually means that you miss out on a lot of conflict, and I mean that in, actually, a bad way. I think my friends that have siblings are so much better at conflict, as in, they don’t, kind of, amplify it into this huge dramatic thing,” Charli, 33, said on the “Smartless” podcast episode dropping on Monday, February 2. “They’re able to move through it a lot more quickly than I am because they know how to diffuse it.”
The Brat artist went on to note that “the only people you have to really fight with is your parents, who are this figure of authority in a way.”
“The clash feels far more drastic. There isn’t a sibling to, kind of, just diffuse it a bit and make it less of a big deal. So it feels really gigantic,” she explained.
Charli XCX and Husband George Daniel Have Glam Date Night at Golden Globes
When cohost Jason Bateman asked whether this means she would want to have “more than one kid” in the future, Charli replied, “I actually don’t really want to have kids.”
Charli went on to acknowledge that her feelings on not having children “could change.”
“I love the fantasy of having a child. Like, naming it sounds so fun. But I’m like, that is exactly a sign to me as to why I should not have one,” she shared. “The fact that that feels like the coolest part about it, I’m like, ‘Maybe I’m not ready.’”
As Bateman, 57, went on to note that The Moment star “might find somebody” that could change her opinion on having kids, Charli interjected to add, “Well I’m married, so.” Bateman quipped, “I gotta read a newspaper one of these days. … Well maybe, your next husband you’re going to want kids.”
Since the podcast aired, the comments have drawn mixed reactions from fans. “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,” one user wrote via X, while another added, “the whole concept of their podcast is that one of them knows who the guest is and others don’t. So Bateman, if he’s not a fan of Charli, can’t know if she’s married or not.”
Charli XCX Defends ‘Brother’ Matty Healy’s Onstage Controversies
Charli initially crossed paths with The 1975’s George Daniel while working together on the March 2021 song “Spinning.” After sparking dating rumors, Charli made her relationship public with Daniel in May of that year.
Charli quietly tied the knot with Daniel in July 2025. In footage shared at the time, Charli stunned in an off-the-shoulder white gown. The couple said “I do” again in September 2025 at Tonnara Di Scopello in the village of Scopello, Sicily, per Just Jared. Charli and Daniel reportedly walked down the aisle to Enrique Iglesias’ “Hero,” with the groom wearing a custom suit created by Carter Young.
One year prior to exchanging vows, Charli got candid about her thoughts regarding having children. While recalling songwriting collaborator Noonie Bao recently having a child, Charli recalled to Rolling Stone UK in 2024, “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’s not enforcing that on me; it’s just a fact. She’s not alive for the same reasons that I am now.”
While Charli might not “want to conform to centuries of indoctrination,” she also wondered about the societal implications of having a child.
Celebrities Explain Why They Don’t Want to Have Children
“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 explained. “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.”
Charli went on to note that if she were to have a child, she would have to plan because of her career.
“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,’” she said. “I feel like a kid; I don’t feel like I can make that decision.”
However, Charli noted that she knows she will “have to make the decision — because we have a clock.”
