The fallout from Kristen Bell’s controversial anniversary post for her husband, Dax Shepard, is continuing, with advocacy groups weighing in as the actress dropped out of a scheduled TV interview.
Bell has been at the receiving end of backlash after celebrating her 12-year marriage to Shepard with an Instagram post that some took as trivialising domestic violence.
“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 incentivised to kill you, I never would’,” Bell wrote alongside an image of her and Shepard hugging.
The post, which was shared during Domestic Violence Awareness Month in the US, has now been slammed by the National Network to End Domestic Violence, an advocacy group based in Washington.
“There’s nothing funny about domestic violence ‘jokes’ that trivialise the very real fear, trauma and pain that millions of victims and survivors face each day,” a representative for the organisation told Page Six.
“Especially during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we all have a responsibility to support victims and survivors, to invest in proven solutions and to speak about this issue with the seriousness it deserves,” they added.
The statement came amid Bell’s scheduled appearance on Today US being pulled, seemingly because of the controversy.
Per the official program, the actress was set to appear on the morning show alongside her Nobody Wants This co-star Justin Lupe, but was notably absent by the time the interview rolled around.
Neither the Today hosts nor Lupe made any mention of Bell, but the reason for her no-show has not yet been officially confirmed.
The fallout only deepened on Wednesday, when a resurfaced interview with Shepard and Bell started doing the rounds on social media.
In it, the pair — who were promoting their 2012 movie Hit and Run — joked about physical violence.
“I hit her several times,” Shepard said when recalling his reaction to Bell once mocking his car. “Then I got beat up, and guess what? I never opened my mouth again,” Bell replied.
The actress has yet to respond to the backlash, and while her original post is still visible on her Instagram profile, the comments have been limited.
Bell and Shepard tied the knot in 2013 and share two daughters, Lincoln and Delta.
Lead images: Instagram and YouTube
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