Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert sent a direct message about Jason Bateman getting hazed by costars on the show.
On Saturday, Sept. 20, Gilbert, who played Laura Ingalls Wilder in the beloved historical drama, addressed recent comments made by Bateman, who played her onscreen adopted brother, James Cooper Ingalls.
“Who? Who did this to you?!?” she demanded in an Instagram post in which he said that he was “hazed by older” costars, vowing, “I will kick their tush….no one smacks down my little bro!”
In the comments, Gilbert’s followers jokingly speculated on the culprits, with one Instagram user suggesting, “Was it Nelly … 😂😂.”
Another echoed, “Nellie Olson, what have you done?!”
“Omg who?! Name names!!!” a different follower exclaimed.
Someone else pointed out, “Uh-oh… Half Pint is throwing down! 😂❤️.”
Meanwhile, yet another Instagram user commented, “I love how you want to protect him even now. 🥹❤️❤️❤️.”
Related: Little House on the Prairie Actress Dead at 89
In a Sept. 18 episode of Hot Ones, host Sean Evans asked if it was true that the older Little House on the Prairie child actors played a prank on Bateman by telling him that his character died.
“Untrue,” Bateman responded. “What they did do was, they pinned me down on the ground, straddled me with knees on my shoulders, and gave me noogies or whatever they call it on my chest.”
Evans asked, “There was a hazing ritual on Little House on the Prairie?” to which Bateman replied, “Yeah. They knocked on my chest like I was a front door.”
Bateman continued, “And then I went to the makeup artist and said, ‘Put a big black-and-blue mark all over my chest.’ And then I went to their parents and I said, ‘Look what your kids did to me.’ And that was good. I got them in trouble.”
Little House on the Prairie aired for nine seasons between 1974 and 1983. Bateman was 11 when he started playing James.
In January, Netflix announced a Little House on the Prairie reboot series, with the son of Michael Landon (who played Pa) sending a bold message about the remake.
In other recent Gilbert news, the former child star recently revealed her “whole childhood in one box” as her husband, Timothy Busfield, did a spot-on Mr. Edwards Impression. The actress, now 61, also gave her stamp of approval to a 2025 AI reimagining of Little House on the Prairie characters.
Additionally, Gilbert sent a bold message after conservative activist Charlie Kirk‘s death and again after ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! after Jimmy Kimmel‘s remarks about Kirk.
This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 21, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
