Charli XCX Forced to Endure Cringey Podcast Interview With Jason Bateman

UPDATE 6:30 p.m.: This story has been edited to reflect that SmartLess’ format involves one host booking a guest without telling the others in advance. References to the hosts failing to research Charli XCX have been removed. That context does not materially change the substance of the interview itself, which many listeners found dismissive and uncomfortable—particularly Jason Bateman’s remarks.

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This week, Charli XCX appeared on the SmartLess podcast, hosted by Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes. The premise of the podcast is that one of the hosts invites a guest without telling the other two guys who it is. I imagine this can be funny, and that these three middle-aged men might not be Charli’s main demographic, but maybe it’s not the best-suited premise for talking with one of the biggest celebrities of the last two years.

During the interview, the subject of kids came up, with Bateman asking if Charli would be interested in having an only child, since she’s one. “I actually don’t really wanna have kids,” Charli responds, saying she “loves the fantasy of having a child” and that “naming it sounds so fun,” and maybe that’s a sign she shouldn’t have them if she’s only excited to name it. Bateman then tells the story of how his wife didn’t want kids until she met him (brag), and maybe Charli will “find somebody” and change her mind.

“Well, I’m married, so,” Charli says. “Oh ok, I gotta read a newspaper one of these days,” Bateman responds.

But this was far from Bateman’s only cringe-worthy moment. At the beginning of the podcast, when Charli mentions she’s been doing press for The Moment, Bateman didn’t seem to know the name of the highly anticipated A24 movie that premiered on Friday. “Tell us about it, what’s it called?” he asked. A few minutes later, Hayes asked Charli if she remembered the day she tweeted, “Kamala is brat,” and Bateman interrupted to say, “Did you start that?! That started with you, Charli?!” Charli responded, “Yeah,” before Hayes had to explain to Bateman that “the name of the album is Brat.” It was a sentence Bateman seemed to hear for the very first time.

Bateman justified his lack of knowledge by saying he’s old. “Don’t worry, Jason, it’s fine, it was only a cultural phenomenon,” Charli deadpanned. Instead of leaving it at that, Bateman then suggested Charli didn’t come up with the term “brat.” Arnett quickly interjected to say, “I think she did,” before Charli clarified, again, “Yeah, it’s the name of my album, yeah.” She then had to describe that her album was green and called Brat, and that, again, yes, it became a massive moment in culture because of her.

Hayes, to his credit, did some damage control by exclaiming how many hits Brat had and listing a few popular tracks, including a lesser-known track, “Hello goodbye,” from the deluxe version. Near the end of the episode, Hayes also had to inform his co-hosts that Charli’s husband, George Daniel, is a member of The 1975, to which Arnett responded, “Oh wow!”

The interview (and especially Bateman) didn’t come off as surprising or quippy; it came off like a couple of men who hadn’t once mustered even baseline curiosity about one of the most famous people in the world. Maybe every host should be allowed to Google two facts about the guest beforehand.

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