Kristen Bell Backlash After Anniversary Caption, Resurfaced Clip

Kristen Bell marked her 12th wedding anniversary with an Instagram post quoting Dax Shepard (“I would never kill you…”), which drew backlash for joking about domestic violence during Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Critics said the caption normalized intimate partner violence and femicide, the controversy went viral, and Bell restricted comments on several posts. A resurfaced 2012 interview clip in which Shepard made an offhand remark about hitting Bell intensified the criticism. Bell skipped a scheduled Today appearance amid the fallout but continued promoting Nobody Wants This season 2 with light interviews and screenings, generally avoiding direct comment on the controversy. Some followers and celebrity friends defended the couple as sharing a dark, private joke, while observers said the couple’s long habit of publicly airing relationship details amplified the negative reaction.