Kristen Bell’s Shaky Reputation Linked To Religious Movement

In a development that no one expected, a deal that is a decade and a half old Kristen Bell Suddenly Christian’s voice appeared front and center, surprising her.

As the “Nobody Wants This” star recovers from backlash following her controversial anniversary post, she was recently announced as part of the cast of the show “The Life of Jesus,” which will air later this month.

However, Bell has now confirmed that she had no idea the religious display existed.

Ahead of the highly anticipated project, Bell’s role in it comes as a shock to her, even though she had recorded the audio 15 years earlier for a completely different work.

I found out that Fox Faith had revived old material and turned it into a new podcast when her team received a request to appear on Fox & Friends the day before the podcast was announced. Bell’s rep told Rolling Stone that she never allowed the old audiobook to be reused in a new podcast series.

Belle isn’t the only notable personality to appear on the broadcast, and others were just as surprised as she was. The cast includes more than 100 members, including Brian Cox, Sean Astin, Neal McDonough, Malcolm McDowell, John Rhys-Davies, Julia Ormond, and more.

A representative for Rhys-Davies revealed that he only learned of the “reused” project this week, and a rep for Cox confirmed that he had no idea his recordings were being reused until recently.

Additionally, one of the producers on the project urged at least one celebrity to “not to mention that this New Testament Audio Bible was produced years ago,” adding that they wanted it to “sound like something that was produced recently.”

A spokesperson for Bell reiterated to Entertainment Weekly that she was not aware of the podcast, saying: “This is the actual, true story.” McDowell’s rep added that the “Clockwork Orange” actor contributed his voice to a completely separate writing project 15 years ago.

Despite the project’s surprise casting, Fox News announced the show last Wednesday as part of the latest addition to the network’s religion-focused programming.

Bale portrays Mary Magdalene, while Astin takes on the role of Matthew. MacDonough portrays Jesus, Cox serves as the voice of God, and McDowell portrays Caiaphas. Rhys-Davies serves as the narrator, with Ormond representing Mary, the Mother of God.

The episodes will be released in four batches, according to key points in the Christian calendar. The first 13 are on November 30 for Advent, the next during Christmas week, another 13 on February 15 for Lent, and the final batch on Palm Sunday, March 29.

News of Bell’s Christian role comes amid criticism she received over her post celebrating her wedding anniversary with her husband, Dax Shepard.

As The Blast reported, last month, the 45-year-old star took to her Instagram account to celebrate the milestone, sharing a cute couple photo alongside an eyebrow-raising caption.

“Happy 12th wedding anniversary to the man who once told me: ‘I would never kill you.’ Many men have killed their wives at some point. And even though I have every incentive to kill you, I would never do it,” Bell wrote.

Her post quickly gained attention from fans, many of whom accused her of downplaying the seriousness of domestic violence.

Amid the backlash, “The Good Place” actress has neither responded to the controversy nor deleted the post.

She also missed a scheduled appearance on the “Today” show, sparking speculation about how the criticism would affect her image and career in the long term.

Crisis management expert Eric Schaefer advised Bell to “abandon the dark humor” and take quick responsibility. “The silence here reads very ugly. Kristen needs to own it, and then move on,” Schiffer warned, per The Blast.

Publicist Alexandria Hurley called the post “completely off-brand” and urged Bell to speak up quickly, warning that silence could easily be interpreted as indifference.