Actor Chris Pratt posted praise for his wife on Instagram, but some feel there is more to the message than meets the eye.
Pratt has been married to Katherine Schwarzenegger since 2019 and together they share their daughter, 1-year-old Lyla Maria.
In the post, he gushed over how she is looking at him, telling his audience to “find somebody that looks at you like that” before praising her for giving him “ a gorgeous healthy daughter”.
“We met in church. She’s given me an amazing life, a gorgeous healthy daughter, she chews so loudly that sometimes I put in my earbuds to drown it out, but that’s love!” the Guardians of the Galaxy star wrote. “She helps me with everything. In return, periodically, I open a jar of pickles. That’s the trade. Her heart is pure and it belongs to me.”
He goes on to say she is his “greatest treasure” next to his Ken Griffey Jr Upper Deck Rookie card which is “saying a lot”.
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He finished the post by saying it’s his wife’s birthday in six weeks and if he doesn’t get her anything, he’ll “tell her to look back on this post”. He concluded the post by writing: “Love you honey”.
So what’s the problem? Here’s why people are criticising it:
The “healthy daughter” remark
Pratt was previously married to actor Anna Faris between 2009 and 2018 and together they share a 9-year-old son named Jack.
Some feel that the “healthy daughter” remark is a dig at Faris given Jack has previously faced health issues.
Jack was nine weeks premature and spent his first month in a neonatal intensive care unit, weighing just three pounds and 12 ounces at birth.
Jack was born with “severe brain bleeding” and doctors warned “there was a chance that he could be developmentally disabled”, according to People.
At 9, Jack has some slight vision and leg muscle issues.
On Instagram, several comments asked Pratt where the reference to his son is.
An Instagram user with the handle @ashslatts wrote: “A specific call out about a healthy child when you’ve got a disabled son who wasn’t mentioned here at all. No call out about her being a great stepmother which I hope she also is in addition to being a great mother. Big yikes.”
Blogger Hayli Baez wrote: “She gave you a ‘gorgeous healthy daughter’ as if the special needs son your ex-wife gave you wasn’t enough… What a f***ing shame to read.”
This is literally so gross. It reads like “my new wife gave me a *healthy* child unlike you, Anna Faris.”
— .nator. (@72Tominator) November 4, 2021
Anna and Jack deserve so much better. https://t.co/U2IqKmlyC8
“Male audacity”
Some feel that the post exposes an unequal dynamic in the relationship.
Commenting on Instagram, @jodieroar asked: “What in the male audacity” and received over 8,000 likes.
Another user wrote: “You open a jar of pickles?!? her heart BELONGS to you?!? #patriarchalAF.”
Some felt he described his wife as a “possession” and roasted him for ranking her against a baseball card.
Instagram user @_itsortal said the jokes about forgetting her birthday, “gushing about how much your wife does for you for almost nothing in return”, and “making a weird purity/ownership comment” is enough to full up a “toxic Christian man bingo card”.
“I love how I have zero responsibility in this relationship. It’s perfect.”
— Squatch Squad Co-Founder (@funavocadofacts) November 4, 2021
It was all just a bit much
Some of the criticism was based around how it all felt a bit... “cringe”.
If you don't think "Her heart is pure and it belongs to me" is thirty-seven consecutive red flags idk what to tell you, beyond please do not talk to me lol
— ImpTwins is shamelessly plugging her streaming (@ImpTwins) November 4, 2021
“…until they WEREN’T!” pic.twitter.com/64b8DXOqbO
— em (@eac1022) November 4, 2021
Not everyone criticised it
The post received flack, but it wasn’t criticised by everyone.
His wife replied on Instagram, writing: “Oh wow. It’s only when I’m eating CEREAL but I love you.”
Brother-in-law Patrick Schwarzenegger also commented, sharing heart eye emojis and laughing emojis.
Chris Pratt posted a loving note to his wife on Instagram, and now angry, bitter people are screeching about it https://t.co/IZkjMV3Ck8
— Lauren Chen (@TheLaurenChen) November 5, 2021
chris pratt mentioning his wife giving him a healthy daughter and twitter thinking it was shade toward anna faris and their son pic.twitter.com/XouwwXNqQP
— shinigami simp 🦋 (@levismackermann) November 4, 2021
Currently, neither Pratt nor Faris have commented on the controversy.
