Kristen Bell is facing heavy criticism for her recent anniversary post for her husband, Dax Shepard, with many followers taking offense to the caption.
Bell, 45, and Shepard, 50, who have been married since 2013, celebrated their 12th anniversary together last Friday, October 17.
To mark the occasion, the Frozen star shared a photo on Instagram, showing her daughter sitting on Shepard’s lap as he tightly embraces her.
“Happy 12th wedding 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 never would,’” she captioned the post.
Several fans have since taken to the comment section, calling Bell out for her “insensitive” caption — particularly given that October is widely recognized in the U.S. as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
“Kristen there’s no way you posted this during domestic violence awareness month,” one comment with more than 17,000 likes reads.
“Hey! i’ve been a fan for a while. I just wanted to say that please don’t joke about domestic violence,” a second wrote, reminding her to “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.”
“That’s a wildly sad and insensitive thing to say,” a third added, while a fourth agreed: “Incredibly insensitive! I’m just shocked she posted this.”
The post generated further discussion on the popular Fauxmoi subreddit, garnering hundreds of comments.
“Posting this during Domestic Violence Awareness Month is beyond the pale. Not every ‘joke’ needs to be blasted to your millions of followers,” one popular comment with nearly 3,000 upvotes reads.
“That’s actually a really tone deaf caption when you consider the domestic violence crisis happening in so many parts of the world,” added another. “What’s the joke supposed to be here? That he hasn’t murdered you even though he could?”
The Independent has contacted Bell’s representative for comment.
The couple have been together since 2007 and share two daughters, Lincoln, 12, and Delta, 10. They first met at a birthday dinner for Forgetting Sarah Marshall producer Shauna Robertson. After two years of dating, they quietly got engaged in 2009. However, the pair waited to tie the knot until same-sex marriage was legalized in the U.S.
Following the Supreme Court’s landmark decision to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act in June 2013, Bell quickly jumped on X to re-propose to Shepard.
“@daxshepard1 will you marry me? Xo #marriageequality #loveislove,” she wrote, to which Shepard replied: “DOMA is dead. Prop 8 is dead. Now let’s bring my big, gay marriage to @IMKristenBell to Life!!!!”
Months later, they got married during a private ceremony at the Beverly Hills courthouse.
On a recent episode of Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, Bell admitted she regrets not having dated more people when she was younger.
“I just wish I would have butterflied around a little more,” she revealed.
“Kristen is a little regretful,” Shepard said. “She was very sexually active, and she wishes she was even more sexually active.”
The national domestic abuse helpline offers support for women on 0808 2000 247, or you can visit the Refuge website. There is a dedicated men's advice line on 0808 8010 327. Those in the US can call the domestic violence hotline on 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org
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