On SmartLess, Will Arnett shut down a graphic question from Jason Bateman about whether he ever “poo[d] in front of” his ex-wife Amy Poehler, turning the moment into an awkward line he wouldn’t cross.
Will Arnett didn’t have to get into the details of his marriage to Amy Poehler to make it clear where his boundaries are.
During the June 22 episode of their SmartLess podcast. Arnett’s co-host Jason Bateman brought up “potty talk. ” following a discussion that included jokes about “power burps.” When Jason joked that Sean Hayes had heard him fart. and Hayes agreed that it had happened “on” him. Bateman pivoted to a question Arnett refused to answer.
“Sean and I love our power burps….I’ve definitely farted in front of you, Sean,” Jason said on the episode. Then he added, “But Willie doesn’t. He doesn’t. So then, Will…Did you ever poo in front of Amy?”
Arnett pushed back immediately. “Are you looking for clicks? Are you trying to get something that we can click around?” he said, sounding more annoyed than amused.
Jason kept pressing. “Wait, but hang on. You were married to her, had two kids. You guys never went to the bathroom in front of each other?”
That was the moment Arnett drew a hard line. “I’m sorry. The question is, did I poo in front of Amy? And you’re saying that I don’t have manners. What are you talking about? It’s not a good question. I refuse to answer it,” he replied.
Arnett and Poehler started dating in 2000, married a few years later, and then separated in 2012. They remain co-parents to two sons, Archie and Abel, born in 2008 and 2010, respectively.
The exchange lands with added attention because Bateman has faced backlash earlier this year for a different podcast question—one he asked Charli XCX.
Will Arnett Amy Poehler Jason Bateman SmartLess podcast Sean Hayes June 22 episode Charli XCX celebrity news