Uma Thurman Says ‘Batman & Robin’ Film Was “Actually Made For Children”

Uma Thurman is clearing up who the intended audience for 1997’s Batman & Robin was for.

In a recent interview, Thurman recalled her role in the DC Comics film, playing Poison Ivy.

While visiting The Kelly Clarkson Show, Thurman told the talk show’s host that her “kids are obsessed with Batman & Robin,” adding, “They love Poison Ivy.”

Thurman noted, “It’s the one that was actually made for children.”

“Well, my kids love it,” Clarkson added.

The superhero film, directed by Joel Schumacher and starring George Clooney and Chris O’Donnell as the titled characters, has divided audiences and critics. Thurman’s claim that Schumacher made Batman & Robin for kids has perplexed many, considering the controversial suits in his films.

Batman & Robin was tonally different from the previous series of films, which started with Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989. Schumacher took over the franchise with 1995’s Batman Forever and shifted into a more cartoonish take than Burton’s vision.

Schumacher introduced the nipple suits, which became controversial. Burton and Clooney have since spoken out against them.

In an interview with Empire magazine in 2022, Burton said the studio “went the other way” in tone after his turn in the director’s chair, adding, “That’s the funny thing about it. But then I was like, ‘Wait a minute. Okay. Hold on a second here. You complain about me, I’m too weird, I’m too dark, and then you put nipples on the costume? Go f*** yourself.’ Seriously. So yeah, I think that’s why I didn’t end up [doing another film in the series].”

Clooney told a Reddit fan in 2014 he “wasn’t thrilled with the nipples on the batsuit,” adding, “You know that’s not something you really think about when you’re putting it on. You figure all batsuits have nipples and then you realize yours was really the first. Batman was just constantly cold I guess.”