Macaulay Culkin has spoken up about his relationship with his parents, particularly his father, whom he alleges abused him during his childhood.

Culkin, 37, said his father, Kit, was “mentally and physically” abusive and “jealous” of him, even making threats like, “Do good or I’ll hit you”.

Kit, who himself was a former actor before managing his son’s career, is still estranged from him.

Macaulay spoke on Marc Maron’s show WTF to talk about his life as a child star and how he got to where he is now.

Macaulay acknowledged, “I’m going around the country, locked in a room with a man who didn’t like me.”

“Everything he tried to do in life, I excelled at before I was 10 years old.

“He was a bad man. He was abusive. Physically and mentally. I can show you my scars. He was just a bad dude. A bad abusive man. He was a piece of work.

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“After I did Richie Rich in 93 or 94, my father and mother called it quits, which is one of the best things to ever happen to me. I was able to walk away from the business. I was able to say, ‘I hope you made all your money, because there’s no more coming from me’.”

He put up with it, though, because it meant the rest of his family wouldn’t have to deal with his father. Despite his emotional turmoil, he managed to make 15 films in seven years!

When Macaulay was 15 years old, he famously won a court lawsuit against his parents, which resulted in them losing their legal guardianship of him and, as a result, losing possession of his $17 million fortune.

While the relationship is clearly strained, Macaulay praises the actors and filmmakers with whom he collaborated at the time, including John Candy, John Hughes, Joe Pesci, and Gaby Hoffmann.

He also discussed his father forcing him to headline Saturday Night Live when he was 11 years old.

“My father was such a crazy person that I had to do the whole episode without cue cards,” he explained, adding that a buddy on the show subsequently told him that no one had ever done the show without them.

“That meant that every other person in the cast couldn’t use cue cards, either. That’s insane. That’s completely insane.

“My father was jealous of me. He made threats including, ‘Do good or I’ll hit you’.”

Meanwhile, Culkin, who was close friends with Michael Jackson, remarked of his bond with Paris Jackson, Jackson’s 19-year-old daughter. Culkin is her godfather, and the two have identical arm tattoos.

Culkin told WTF, “I am close with Paris. I’m going to warn you now I am very protective of her so just look out.

“I am a very open book when it comes to things but like with her, she is beloved by me.”

Today, the former actor spends his time between New York and Paris and describes himself as a “30-something retired person walking around with a baguette under [his] arm,” and is more happier with his life.

He told Marc, “I live a very full, rich, and silly life.” He keeps in touch with his mother, who lives on a Montana ranch, and is close with his siblings.