Chris Pratt addresses backlash over Instagram message to wife Katherine Schwarzenegger: ‘That is f**ked up’

The actor previously received backlash when he praised his wife for giving him a ‘healthy’ daughter, after his oldest son Jack was born prematurely

Chris Pratt has addressed the backlash he received last year after he posted an Instagram tribute to his wife Katherine Schwarzenegger, in which he praised her for giving him a “gorgeous healthy daughter”.

In November 2021, the Guardians of the Galaxy actor shared a smiling photo of himself with his wife, who he has been married to since 2019. In the lengthy Instagram caption, Pratt encouraged his followers to “find someone” who looks at them the way that Schwarzenegger is looking at him in the photo. The actor also wrote in the caption that he is grateful she has given him a :gorgeous healthy daughter” – then 14-month-old daughter Lyla.

Pratt faced widespread criticism for the post, which was interpreted as a “passive aggressive” dig at his ex-wife Anna Faris and their nine-year-old son Jack, who was born prematurely.

Now, in an interview with Men’s Health published on 28 June, the Parks and Recreation alum opened up about the online backlash.

“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,’” he told Men’s Health for the latest issue.

“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,’” he recalled.

“And I’m like, That is f**ked up. My son’s gonna read that one day. He’s nine. And it’s etched in digital stone. It really f**king bothered me, dude. I cried about it,” he said. “I was like, I hate that these blessings in my life are – to the people close to me – a real burden.”

In the wake of the criticism he received for the post, the Jurassic World star revealed that he went to bed “upset” and “depressed” due to the backlash.

“I went to bed last night really kind of upset and depressed and I woke up feeling crappy and I didn’t want to work out,” he said in an Instagram video.

Chris Pratt was previously married to Scary Movie star Anna Faris for nine years, until the two divorced in 2018. In 2012, the pair welcomed son Jack, who was born prematurely at just three pounds and 12 ounces, having spent his first month in the NICU. According to People, Jack was born with severe brain bleeding.

Last month, Chris Pratt, 43, and Katherine Schwartzenegger, 32, announced the birth of their second daughter, Eloise Christina Schwarzenegger Pratt. The couple are already parents to daughter Lyla Maria, who is nearly two years old.