Charli xcx, currently on the promo circuit for both her music industry satire The Moment and her companion album to Wuthering Heights, is the latest guest on the SmartLess podcast. As you’ve no doubt seen since the episode debuted on Monday (Feb. 2), some fans have taken issue with a moment in the interview focused on marriage and children, particularly remarks from podcast co-host Jason Bateman that, in their full context, others have argued as amounting to a mere nothing-burger.
To be clear, the overall clunkiness of this style of questioning is often a key feature of SmartLess, not necessarily a bug. For those unfamiliar, each episode begins with one of the hosts revealing a mystery guest to the other two. Still, some fans were publicly displeased with Bateman this time around. The Ozark alum hosts the podcast with Sean Hayes and Will Arnett.
At one point in the conversation, Charli—fresh off her appearance at the 2026 Grammys as a presenter—spoke with the hosts about her upbringing as an only child, highlighting its tendency to leave one less-than-equipped when it comes to navigating conflict. Eventually, this led to Bateman asking her about having kids of her own. As fans know, Charli previously addressed the topic of potential motherhood on “I Think About It All the Time,” a song off her blockbuster 2024 album BRAT.
Bateman asked, “Does that mean that 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 where it's the only child and then you get to just kind of nurture and protect and…” before Charli interjected to note that she’s not particularly interested in having kids.
“I actually don't really want to have kids,” she said, with Hayes also chiming in to wonder why, though he also underscored his inquiry with an “it’s none of my business” disclaimer. Hayes likened his own potential parenthood to an episode of Intervention, prompting Charli to detail her own stance.
“I mean, I know what you mean,” she said. “It’s like, I love like 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. The fact that that feels like the coolest part about it. I'm like, maybe I'm not ready. You know what I mean?”
Bateman responded by saying this “could change,” citing his relationship with his wife, Amanda Anka, as an example of a pairing that could inspire someone to amend their stance on parenting.
“You might find somebody,” Bateman offered.
“Well, I’m married, so…,” Charli, who last year married George Daniel of The 1975, responded.
Bateman then joked that he’s “gotta read a newspaper one of these days,” while Charli took the moment in stride.
“I was enjoying,” she said. “I knew immediately, like, where you were gonna go. I knew my response. I was gonna be looking forward to it.”
From there, Bateman joked that her “next husband” could lead to her wanting kids of her own.
While Bateman was criticized by some fans on social media in connection with this exchange, the reactions weren’t entirely negative. Others were just as quick to point out the aforementioned setup of the SmartLess podcast, while also arguing that some of the criticism was rooted in cherry-picking from what was overall an innocuous moment from the interview.
As of this writing, Charli hasn’t responded to the discourse.