Ben Stiller has addressed parenting backlash after his nepo baby children slammed him for ‘never being around’ while growing up.
The 59-year-old actor – whose documentary about his late famous parents Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara was released last week – opened up about the topic during an appearance on The View on Thursday.
The star shares daughter Ella, 23, and son Quinn, 20, with wife Christine Taylor – whom he tied the knot with in 2000.
‘Having kids who are now actors also, and experiencing that, that became part of the movie too in terms of talking to them about how cyclically, generationally these things get handed down,’ he said, referencing to the Apple TV+ documentary.
Stiller added, ‘You want to do better than your parents but then in some places you do better – sometimes you do worse. It’s that struggle we all go through.’
His comments come not long after both his kids reflected on how the Zoolander star had been absent during their childhood.
Ben Stiller, 59, has addressed parenting backlash after his nepo baby children slammed him for ‘never being around’ while growing up
The star shares daughter Ella, 23, and son Quinn, 20, with wife Christine Taylor – whom he tied the knot with in 2000; seen in 2016 in NYC
At one point in the documentary titled Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost, the star also got candid about what his daughter Ella previously told him which had been: ‘I literally can’t ever remember you being around when I was growing up.’
And his son also stated that he felt he ‘came last’ while the actor was pursuing a successful Hollywood career.
Stiller said, ‘After a tough day, or if something was going wrong, you can kind of get into your own head and when you get into that place, it’s hard to get you out of it. So that would kind of put a damper on the fun part of being on vacation.
‘You have all these hats that you’re trying to balance, you know? Being a director, an actor, a producer, a writer.’
He continued, ‘But also just, like, a father. And sometimes, I felt that would come last to these other things.’
The Something About Mary star also admitted what he regretted most when it came to his daughter Ella – who has followed in her father’s acting footsteps.
She had been set to star in the 2013 project Secret Life of Walter Mitty alongside her father, but he chose to cut a scene which included Ella.
In the Apple TV+ documentary, Stiller – who also directed the movie – told his daughter, ‘I cut you out of Secret Life Of Walter Mitty. It’s probably the worst decision I ever made in my life,’ per Entertainment Weekly.
Stiller added, ‘You want to do better than your parents but then in some places you do better – sometimes you do worse. It’s that struggle we all go through’
And his son also stated that he felt he ‘came last’ while the actor was pursuing a successful Hollywood career; Stiller seen with son Quinn (far left) and wife Christine Taylor earlier this month in NYC
The Something About Mary star also admitted what he regretted most when it came to his daughter Ella – who has followed in her father’s acting footsteps; the pair seen earlier this month in L.A.
However, the actress defended her father’s decision and explained the scene ‘didn’t make sense in the movie.’
Stiller added, ‘For me it kind of goes deeper. What it relates to is my own issues with my own obsession with my work, or “perfectionism.”‘
In 2014, she received an uncredited role in the film Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb – after voicing the character of a schoolchild in Megamind (2010).
Most recently, Ella – who graduated from The Juilliard School last year – appeared in two episodes of the Sex And The City spinoff And Just Like That earlier this year as well as Happy Gilmore 2 (2025).
Her younger brother Quinn is also no stranger when it comes to acting and additionally starred in Happy Gilmore 2 as well as Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb (2014).
Stiller is the son of Jerry Stiller – who was known for his roles in shows such as The King Of Queens and Seinfeld.
The actor’s mother Anne Meara also had a successful career in entertainment and starred in ALF, Sex And The City as well as Night At The Museum.
The actor is the son of late stars Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara – who also had successful careers in the entertainment industry; Stiller seen above with his late parents and wife in 2008 in NYC
However, the couple initially separated in 2017 but chose to live with each other during the COVID-19 pandemic along with their children – where they soon reconciled.
‘I didn’t expect we were going to get back together,’ Stiller recently admitted to The Hollywood Reporter.
‘But when we broke up, there was a part of me that wasn’t ready to just give up on it. Probably a certain amount of that is having watched my parents.’
The star added, ‘And I love Christine, I love my family, and I was not ready to just go, “Okay, enough of this.”‘
But in regards to his work in the industry, Stiller admitted, ‘Sometimes I have to be pulled from it.
‘I also really love hanging out with my family and Christine and having fun together. So I’m happy that I didn’t totally miss the boat on that.’
In the Apple TV+ documentary – which was released on October 17 – Stiller claimed that he ‘f***ed up’ as a father when it came to raising his two children.
In regards to his separation from Taylor, the Meet The Parents actor expressed, ‘It totally affected us.
‘I didn’t expect we were going to get back together,’ Stiller recently admitted to The Hollywood Reporter; the couple seen in September in L.A.
In the Apple TV+ documentary, Stiller claimed that he ‘f***ed up’ as a father when it came to raising his two children; seen earlier this month in NYC
‘I just remember missing them terribly,’ he said of his children. ‘And when they would come back, my sister and I would act out Jesus Christ Superstar or something in the lounge.’
He continued, ‘But, then, I probably f***ed up more with my kids than my parents did with us… my son tells me that being a dad might not have been at the top of my list.’
Stiller’s children have recently joined him at red carpet events, such as Quinn making an appearance alongside his father at the premiere of Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost earlier this month.
And over the past weekend, Ella glammed up with her dapper father as they both attended the star-studded Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles.
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