Arrested Development is to Jason Bateman what the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is to Will Smith. It is the role that marked his big comeback to the acting industry after a dry slot in his career. Long before he won several awards for his incredible performance in the Netflix series Ozark, the actor gained recognition for starring as Michael Bluth in Arrested Development. The show is still considered to be a hidden gem by many for its comedic brilliance.

Starring Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Alia Shawkat, Tony Hale, David Cross, Jeffrey Tambor, and Jessica Walter in lead roles, the show had a lovely cast. Fans craved to catch an off-screen moment of theirs. That is, until 2018, when Walter opened up about how she was harassed by Jeffrey Tambor. As if that wasn’t enough of a stir, the cast, including Jason Bateman, seemingly condoning Tambor’s behavior, definitely was.

Jason Bateman once apologized to Jessica Walter

The cast of the iconic show reunited in 2011. And this monumental moment soon started getting recognition for the wrong reasons after fans saw how the other cast members reacted to Walter’s confession. The NYT interview was the first time that Jessica Walter opened up about the harassment she faced from Jeffrey Tambor. And the actress even shed tears in her vulnerable moment.

However, Jason Bateman and the other cast members brushed it aside. The Ozark actor reasoned Tambor’s behavior with “families come together and certain dynamics collide and clash once in a while.”

This obviously did not sit well with the viewers, who were quick to point out how insensitive he sounded toward the victim. The result of this controversial interview was an emotional apology by Jason Bateman on Twitter in 2018.

The actor straight away accepted that he was wrong. “I am horrified that I wasn’t aware of how this incident affected her,” said Bateman in his apology. He profusely apologized to Jessica Walter, who passed away in 2021.

The Arrested Development actor said that he should have been more aware of what was going on. And said that it wasn’t his place to speak. Following suit in Bateman’s footsteps, other members of the cast who also received backlash released their own versions of apologies on Twitter. The show originally ran for three seasons from 2003 to 2006 and was later taken under the wing by Netflix.

Years later, Bateman would find another family in the Ozark cast, with whom he parted ways earlier this year, following the show’s explosive two-part fourth season. At present, he is gearing up to lead and executive produce limited series, Black Rabbit, alongside Jude Law with Netflix.

While we wait for more news on the new project, let us know in the comments what you think of Bateman’s 2018 public apology.