For better or worse, the world just can’t seem to stop talking about Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt, and Busy Philipps is merely the latest celebrity to join the conversation. Following Pratt announcing his leading roles in both the upcoming Super Mario Bros. and Garfield movies, the actor came under some serious fire for sharing a tribute to his wife to his Instagram with what many are calling a somewhat patronizing caption.
Shared on November 2, the post was made to serve as an early birthday present to Pratt’s wife, Katherine Schwarzenegger. While the photo itself is fairly innocuous, the caption almost immediately set off alarms with some people, with Pratt writing, “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. My greatest treasure right next to my Ken Griffey Jr Upper Deck Rookie card.”
While Pratt might not have intended for the post to come across maliciously, some were quick to point out how possessive Pratt sounded in his caption. Others drew attention to how strange it was to thank Schwarzenegger for a “healthy baby” following his first child with actress Anna Farris having various medical issues. Among those to critique Pratt’s words is Busy Philipps, who addressed the post in the latest episode of her podcast Busy Philipps Is Doing Her Best. On the podcast, Phillips criticizes Pratt for “centering himself” and making “tired gender jokes,” telling listeners:
“You’re probably not the type of lady that will laugh enthusiastically if you’re with a man and he starts to make very tired gender jokes about responsibilities and duties and even like, the f***ing tired bit that he’s doing which is, ‘She runs the show I occasionally open a bag of pickles. That’s how f***ing dumb what he said is. You are a Marvel superhero. You made $480 million last year. You work non-stop. You don’t just open a f***ing jar of pickles.”
Phillips then continued to dig into Pratt, saying the post was “patronizing” and reinforced the notion of a power imbalance seen in many households. She also said Pratt saying Schwarzenegger is his “greatest treasure right next to my Ken Griffey Jr Upper Deck Rookie card” makes it seem as if the star views his wife as an object.
“He has possessions, and she’s one of them .. What she does in their household is probably a lot. She probably does a lot of the domestic labor. They have a kid and whatever. That is actually legitimately a lot of f***ing work. But by the way he’s talking about himself, putting himself in it, in the center of it, it makes it seem like it’s bulls***.”
Prior to Pratt remarrying, Philipps admitted the two were friends and she even went on a vacation with Pratt and Farris while the two were expecting their son, Jack. Philipps said in the “before times” the actor was “super nice and funny,” but also “drank a lot” and was a bit of a “doomsday prepper.” She then added she no longer has any relationship with Pratt.
