Hollywood actor Macaulay Culkin has opened up about his decades-long estrangement from his father, Christopher “Kit” Culkin, describing him as the worst person he has ever known and revealing that they have not spoken in more than 30 years.
The Home Alone star made the revelations during an appearance on Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson’s Sibling Revelry podcast in March 2025, revisiting the troubled family relationship that followed his rise to fame as a child actor.
Culkin, who became one of Hollywood’s most recognisable young stars after the success of Home Alone, alleged that his childhood relationship with his father was deeply distressing. He recalled spending extended periods travelling with Kit during his early acting career, describing the experience as being trapped with someone he found difficult to live with.
“I was kind of locked in a room with a crazy person,” Culkin said while reflecting on his childhood experiences.
The actor also suggested that he bore much of the strain within the family, describing a period in which his relationship with his father deteriorated as his career and earnings grew.
The situation reportedly worsened when his parents separated in the 1990s, triggering a bitter custody dispute. Culkin said he wanted nothing to do with his father and resisted court-ordered visitation arrangements.
Recalling his defiance during the dispute, the actor explained that he told his lawyer he would rather face the consequences than be forced to visit his father.
“I double dare him to arrest the most famous kid in the world,” he recalled saying.
Culkin also discussed the financial dispute surrounding the money he earned as a child star. During the family conflict, he took steps to remove his parents as the people responsible for managing his finances, replacing them with an accountant. The move was part of his effort to separate his career earnings from the family dispute.
Decades later, the actor says the relationship has never been repaired.
“I haven’t spoken to him in about 30-something years,” Culkin revealed on the podcast.
He also spoke about his father’s estrangement from other members of the family, claiming that none of Kit’s seven children or four grandchildren wanted a relationship with him at the time of the interview.
“He deserves it too,” Culkin added.
However, Kit Culkin has disputed allegations of abuse. In a 2016 interview with the Daily Mail, he reportedly said he no longer considered Macaulay his son, highlighting the depth of the breakdown between them.
The family’s history has attracted public attention for years because of the extraordinary pressures surrounding Macaulay’s childhood fame, his parents’ separation and the dispute over his earnings.
While Culkin’s account presents his decision to cut contact as a response to a deeply troubled relationship, the wider circumstances remain a personal family matter, with the accounts of those involved differing.
His experience has nevertheless renewed conversations about parental responsibility, childhood stardom and the boundaries adult children may establish when relationships with their parents become damaging.
For some, walking away from a parent can be a necessary step towards protecting their well-being. Others believe that family relationships deserve opportunities for reconciliation, even after years of conflict.
