The debate over the “Best Chris/Worst Chris” standings is a meme that many people have participated in. While it feels like a fun internet game at times, there are some moments that aren’t as lighthearted. Marvel Cinematic Universe star Chris Pratt has seen the not-so-nice side of things, especially in the backlash to his birth announcement for one of his daughters.
Not only does Chris Pratt not understand where this hate is coming from, but James Gunn, director of the upcoming Marvel movie Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, has also weighed in on why this online hate against the actor infuriates him.
Chris Pratt’s Reaction To His Online Haters
While promoting his upcoming Amazon Prime show The Terminal List, Chris Pratt took part in an interview that ran the gamut of his pop culture career. As he spoke with Men’s Health, the actor reflected on how he felt about it all, and his response is as humble as you’d expect:
You don’t ever wanna get caught complaining or anything. ‘ Cause I have so many blessings. I consider everything a blessing truly in my life.
As Pratt has previously been named “Worst Chris” for various reasons, it’s no surprise that he’d question just why people think he deserves such treatment. One of the more powerful flashpoints for this opinion was after the announcement of daughter Lyla’s birth in 2020, as Pratt’s social media post that loved on his wife and their daughter was indirectly seen as a stealth dig.
Thanking Katherine Schwarzenegger for their “healthy daughter,” some thought that Chris Pratt was throwing shade toward his ex-wife Anna Faris and their son Jack, who was born premature. That notion has circulated for some time, and Pratt further explained just how that backlash affected him personally:
I said something like, ‘Find someone who looks at you the way my wife looks at me.’ And then I gave her some shit 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.’ And I’m like, That is fucked up. My son’s gonna read that one day. He’s nine. And it’s etched in digital stone. It really fucking bothered me, dude. I cried about it. I was like, I hate that these blessings in my life are—to the people close to me—a real burden.
This is one of the several fronts comments have been made on when it comes to Chris Pratt. Time and again, Pratt has been defended by MCU co-workers, and no one has been more vocal than James Gunn himself.
Why The Online Hate Against Chris Pratt Infuriates James Gunn
James Gunn has not been shy about backing his Guardians of the Galaxy leading man. Recently, fans called for Pratt’s removal as Star-Lord, which lead to the filmmaker responding in kind. Further laying out an explanation for why he’s so supportive of Chris Pratt, Gunn had this to say:
It absolutely infuriates me. Chris is unspeakably kind to people; he goes out of his way to help kids. He’s an especially loving father. And there’s a lot of stuff that people have literally just made up about him — about his politics, about who he is, about what he believes of other people, you know?
As James Gunn’s own run-ins with internet controversy saw him temporarily removed from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the man knows the territory that Chris Pratt is traveling rather well. James Gunn’s support, as well as the support from other directors and stars who have worked personally with Pratt, are an effective counter to the negative feelings he’s encountered.
How the online landscape will change for Chris Pratt is yet to be seen, especially since this interview could have an effect on the matter. In the meantime, you can see him in Prime Video’s The Terminal List, which debuts on July 1st. As for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, you can expect that film to hit theaters on May 5, 2023. Which means Disney+ subscribers have lots of time to catch up on all of Star-Lord’s antics through the MCU library.
