Macaulay Culkin Claims Jealous Father Was 'Mentally and Physically' Abusive

Macaulay Culkin opened up about the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father, Kit Culkin, and why he was able to walk away from Hollywood in an interview with Marc Maron.

In his interview with Maron on his WTF podcast, released Monday, Culkin got candid about his childhood and said his parent's separation following "Richie Rich" – his last role as a child actor – was "one of the best things that ever happened" because he "was able to actually walk away from the business."

Culkin explained, "I even wanted to take a break for a while and eventually I was like 'I'm done guys, hope you all made your money because there is no more coming from me.'"

At 15 years old, Culkin famously took his parents to court over his $17 million fortune and successfully removed them as the legal guardians.

Culkin also confessed he was scared of his father. "Do good or I’ll hit you," Macaulay said of him. He goes on to explain Kit was abusive both "mentally and physically ... across the board," but that he "caught the brunt of it."

While he says his relationship with his father soured before his success, he believes Kit grew "jealous" of him. "Everything he [Kit] tried to do in life, I excelled at before I was 10-years-old." For his part, Culkin's dad has denied allegations of abuse.

These days, Culkin told Maron he's living and enjoying his life in a fun, fruitful way despite his father's efforts.