Dax Shepard wasn’t worried at all about his wife Kristen Bell’s controversial anniversary post, which was branded “tone-deaf” and received a ton of backlash.
Shepherd first addressed the controversy on Monday’s episode of the Armchair Expert podcast, saying he actually had “no clue” about the uproar it caused.
Last October, during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Bell received backlash for celebrating her wedding anniversary on Instagram with the caption, “Happy 12th wedding anniversary. To the man who once said to me after an episode of Dateline: ‘Happy 12th wedding anniversary. I would never kill you. Many men have killed their own wives at some point. I am highly motivated to kill you, but I will never kill you.'” ❤️. ”
Shepard said the post had been up for a week and a half before she noticed backlash from people accusing the actress of making light of domestic violence.
“Someone informed me that this whole thing was going on,” Shepard recalled to guest Nikki Glazer on Monday’s episode. “I didn’t know. Kristen knew through her publicist, but she didn’t tell me. So I didn’t really know, but this brought it to my attention.”
Shepard didn’t mind telling Shepard about the joke that Glazer nearly told when he hosted the 2026 Golden Globe Awards in January, telling her it was “very funny.”
Glaser said, “‘Die, my love. If I had legs I’d kick you. I’m sorry, baby.'” These aren’t just captions for Dax Shepard’s Mother’s Day Instagram post. Or, for example…these aren’t just captions for Dax Shepard’s memorial post. These are the movies nominated tonight. ”
Bell has not commented on the backlash she has received, but she turned off comments on social media shortly after posting the post.
She also avoided speaking about the controversy during an appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and opted out of appearing on the “Today” show the following week.
“There is nothing funny about domestic violence ‘jokes’ that trivialize the very real fear, trauma and pain that millions of victims and survivors face every day,” a representative from the National Network to End Domestic Violence exclusively told Page Six in a statement at the time.
“Especially during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we all have a responsibility to support victims and survivors, invest in proven solutions, and talk about this issue with the seriousness it deserves,” the organization concluded.
Bell, 45, and Shepherd, 51, married in October 2013 and have daughters Lincoln, 13, and Delta, 11.
