Kristen Bell ‘Pretty Shocked by the Fallout’ Stemming From Controversial Anniversary Post

Kristen Bell was stumped. On the red carpet at the season 2 premiere of Nobody Wants This in L.A., an Entertainment Tonight reporter quizzed the actress, 45, on the importance of the date Oct. 17. “Tomorrow, Friday, is… the beginning of the weekend?” she guessed, grasping at straws. “The Wrexham Charity Gala?” After a long pause, Kristen exclaimed, “Oh my god! It’s my anniversary!” before thanking the reporter. “Oh shoot. I’m so glad you told me.”

Sure enough, Kristen took to Instagram the next day to celebrate her and husband Dax Shepard’s marriage milestone. The Frozen star shared a sweet snap of the couple embracing in bed, but it was the caption that sent the internet into a tizzy. “Happy 12th anniversary to the man who once said to me: ‘I would never kill you. A lot of men have killed their wives at a certain point. Even though I’m heavily incentivized to kill you, I would never.’” While there were some who found the humor in Kristen’s post — “Screenshotted,” commented NBC’s Dateline — others did not. “Is this… supposed to be funny?” asked a fan. “What a wild thing to post during Domestic Violence Awareness Month,” noted another. “Crazy thing to joke about honestly. Sincerely, someone who thankfully survived,” wrote a third.

Public Outcry

The backlash continued with many domestic violence experts weighing in on Kristen’s controversial Instagram. Dale Margolin Cecka, director of the Family Violence Litigation Clinic at Albany Law School, explained that, “even when framed as humor, comments about domestic violence normalize abuse and silence survivors. Survivors often carry trauma that can be re-traumatized by casual remarks, especially from public figures,” per Daily Mail. Danielle Pollack, policy manager for the National Family Violence Law Center at GW Law, weighed in too, adding that “making flippant comments can inadvertently undermine the gravity of these issues and how DV is handled and viewed by society and systems.” Hollywood crisis management expert Eric Schiffer even suggested Kristen “own” her comments and apologize.

Kristen’s inner circle seems to have turned on her too. The Blast report claimed “many close to Kristen are happy she is getting heat over her comments because she often never sees how her words… can actually hurt people” and that “it is not a surprise that she hasn’t apologized because she doesn’t ever think she is wrong.” Kristen’s post is still up and she has yet to publicly comment on the online outrage, but a source tells Star that she and Dax, 50, are reeling from the negative headlines.

“Kristen is pretty shocked by all the fallout,” shares the source. “She does privately accept in hindsight that it wasn’t an appropriate joke to make and if it’s offended people that certainly wasn’t her intention.” However, “Kristen’s also annoyed that people are using it to cast aspersions on her character.” As for why she has chosen to remain silent, Star’s source says Kristen doesn’t want to add fuel to the fire. “Plus, she doesn’t ultimately think she’s done anything wrong.”

Sophomore Slump

Kristen isn’t usually the target of such criticism. Indeed, her marriage is often cited as #CouplesGoals. The parents of two’s cute banter has even been featured in several ad campaigns. But at the same time as the anniversary post hit a nerve, she faced backlash against season 2 of Nobody Wants This. Fans blasted the romantic comedy series, which centers on Joanne (Bell), an agnostic podcaster, and Noah (Adam Brody), a Jewish rabbi, as trafficked in stereotypes and groused that the plot failed to advance. “It felt like such a letdown and a cop out,” lamented one. “The characters deserved better, and the audience did too.”

Others picked up on too-obvious product placement. In one scene, for example, Kristen’s character applies Estée Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair Serum while FaceTiming her sister Morgan (Justine Lupe). (Dunkin’ also makes an appearance.) “The number of product placements this season is hilarious to the point that it’s basically a giant infomercial,” griped a Redditor according to The Guardian.

While she’s stunned by the fallout, the actress isn’t letting it get her down. Says the source, “At the end of the day, Kristen’s comfortable with her choices and won’t allow herself to be dragged down or picked to pieces, period.”