Chris Pratt faced online backlash in Nov. 2021 over an Instagram post about his wife, Katherine Schwarzenegger. The actor, 43, celebrated his and Katherine’s “gorgeous healthy” daughter Lyla, which many fans interpreted as a dig to his son Jack, 9, who he shares with his ex Anna Faris. Jack was born almost two months premature and faced health struggles. Chris finally addressed the controversy in his interview with Men’s Health (published June 28) for their July/August 2022 issue.
“I said something like, ‘Find someone who looks at you the way my wife looks at me.’ And then I gave her some sh*t in the thing and said, ‘But I love you. I’m so thankful for my wife—she gave me a beautiful, healthy daughter.’ And then a bunch of articles came out and said, ‘That’s so cringeworthy. I can’t believe Chris Pratt would thank her for a healthy daughter when his first child was born premature. That’s such a dig at his ex-wife,’ ” the Guardians of the Galaxy star recalled. “And I’m like, That is f***ed up. My son’s gonna read that one day. He’s nine. And it’s etched in digital stone.”
Chris went on to admit that the controversy about his son “really f***ing bothered” him, and that he “cried about it.” He continued, “I was like, I hate that these blessings in my life are—to the people close to me—a real burden.” Chris also acknowledged that he probably shouldn’t keep harping on the situation. “My publicist would be like, ‘I’m sweating, Chris, I’m sweating. What happened to the it’s-an-honor-just-to-be-nominated-let’s-move-on f***ing line that we talked about?’ ” he said.
The Jurassic World actor previously indirectly confirmed that he was hurt by the online accusations that he insulted his son. The day after the controversy began, Chris revealed via Instagram Stories that he went to bed “depressed,” though he didn’t outright say it was because of his IG post. His mother-in-law Maria Shriver also stepped in to defend the actor in the comments. “I want to remind you today what a good man you are, what a great father you are to Jack and Lyla, what a great husband you are to Katherine, what a great son in law you are to me, and what a great sense of humor you have !!” Maria wrote.
Chris and Ana, 45, have been co-parenting their son Jack ever since they split in 2017 after eight years of marriage. Ana eloped with cinematographer Michael Barrett in July 2021. Chris has been married to Katherine since June 2019. They recently welcomed their second child together, daughter Eloise Christina Schwarzenegger Pratt.