Kristen Bell recently marked her 12th wedding anniversary with Dax Shepard by sharing an uncanny confession that rubbed the internet the wrong way.
The 45-year-old actress and her 50-year-old actor husband tied the knot in a private ceremony at the Beverly Hills courthouse on October 17, 2013.
While they are no strangers to unusual celebratory posts online, this one seemed “insensitive” and “tone-deaf” to many netizens.
“How can any self-respecting woman stay with a man like that? That would have me leaving so fast your head would spin,” wrote one user.
The Nobody Wants This star shared a cuddly picture along with an uncanny confession on her Instagram
The post, shared with Kristen’s 15.8 million followers, featured a photo of the pair firmly embracing each other while sitting on the edge of a bed.
Bell appeared to be sitting on Shepard’s lap, whose face was visible to the camera, while Kristen’s was hidden as she looked the other way.
While the image itself did not raise any alarms, the caption accompanying the post, which has garnered nearly 668K likes and over 3,500 comments, certainly did.
Kristen started the message on a positive note, celebrating the couple’s milestone, and then quickly shared something that Dax had “once said” to her.
“Happy 12th wedding anniversary to the man who once said to me…”
Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard, who share two children together, marked 12 years of marriage
“I would never ki** you. A lot of men have ki**ed their wives at a certain point. Even though I’m heavily incentivized to ki** you, I never would.”
While the confession was made by the Parenthood star, whether as sarcasm or a joke, netizens were not impressed, calling it an “odd” thing to say to one’s spouse.
Many also noted the negative implications of the words, particularly as October is observed as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
One user criticized, writing, “Please don’t joke about domestic violence. Please keep in mind that this is something real that lots of people suffer on a daily basis. And the text could be triggering for victims.”
Another commented, “Kristen there’s no way you posted this during domestic violence awareness month.”
The 50-year-old actor “once” confided in his wife about a disturbing homicidal thought
“Listen, I’m a huge fan of hers but it was a little tone deaf, just my opinion!”
Adding more fuel to the controversy, the official Instagram account of the popular American investigative reality show Dateline NBC also left a comment, “screenshotted.”
The show, which has been on air since 1992, covers a wide range of topics, including true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries, and in-depth investigations.
Given the nature of Dax’s message in Bell’s caption, many considered the NBC show’s reply to be “savage.”
“@datelinenbc whoever you are running this account, you deserve a raise.”
The couple first began dating in 2007 after connecting at a dinner party, and three years later, they got engaged in 2010.
Social media users slammed the celebratory post, pointing out that it was shared during Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Together, they share two daughters: Lincoln, born in March 2013, and Delta, born in December 2014.
The post followed a candid interview Bell gave the day before on the red carpet at the Nobody Wants This Season 2 premiere.
When asked by an Entertainment Tonight reporter if she remembered the special occasion on October 17, Bell struggled to give an answer.
After an awkward pause, she finally realized, “Is… the… oh my God, it’s my anniversary! You know I don’t remember that. Oh sh**t, I’m so glad that you told me.”
Kristen and Dax are known for sharing eyebrow-raising and often controversial posts about each other online
“And no one’s at fault here, right? We’re just not great with dates.”
Previously, in July this year, Shepard celebrated his wife’s first Emmy nomination for Best Comedy Actress with an explicit Instagram post.
In the eyebrow-raising picture, The Good Place star was seen doing the downward dog position while basking in the sun without any clothes on, wearing only bright blue socks.
“People might not know everything that happens behind the scenes in order to create an Emmy nominated performance like Kristen’s. This may or may not have been a part of her training, but it felt right. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!” the comedian wrote in the caption.
“Yikes … sometimes we don’t need to post allll of our thoughts,” expressed one disappointed netizen.
“Domestic violence and violence against women aren’t jokes Kristen,” expressed one enraged user online
