Just days after getting called out for a disturbing and “tone deaf” anniversary post, Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard are under fire again for the cringeworthy way they use violence as humor when discussing their relationship, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
A newly resurfaced interview from 2012 showed the couple talking about one of Shepard’s beloved cars, and he deadpanned that he “hit” his wife when she commented that the vehicle was making a worrisome sound.
‘She Learned’
Shepard and Bell married 11 months after the interview took place.
The duo was doing an interview promoting their film Hit & Run, and Bell, 45, recalled how the couple were driving to brunch in the car after Shepard, 45, spent two years “souping it up.”
“Five minutes into the ride, and I said, ‘This sounds like it’s going to break,'” she noted.
‘And I was very offended,” Shepard recalled. “And then I hit her. Several times.”
Bell snarked back, “And then I got beat up, and guess what – I never opened my mouth again.” Shepard added a sly, “She learned.”
The reporter was taken aback and told the couple, “My goodness, you have quite the interesting relationship,” with a nervous laugh before switching topics.
‘Heavily Incentivized to Kill You’
Bell got called out for making a crude attempt a joke in her anniversary post.
The domestic violence jokes from 13 years ago came to light after Bell’s bizarre wedding anniversary post to her husband on October 18.
“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,'” The Good Place star wrote in the caption.
The off-putting attempt at humor came with a photo of Shepard holding Bell tightly in his arms as they sat on a bed, with one hand on her head and the other on her lower back.
‘Crazy Thing to Joke About’
Fans were divided over Bell’s controversial wedding anniversary post.
Most fans didn’t find anything funny about Bell’s caption, as many pointed out that October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
“Crazy thing to joke about, honestly. Sincerely, someone who thankfully survived,” one woman wrote. A second warned, “Not funny at all. What kind of man says that to his wife? Oh, wait, I know exactly what kind. Get out now, Kristen.”
“Just another tone deaf celebrity who makes light of women who are killed by their partners every single day,” a third follower fumed.
However, Bell’s odd humor found some fans who appreciated it.
“We have to be allowed to take some dark stuff as funny. I have been in abusive relationships, and this is still funny,” a fourth person shared, while a fifth told Bell’s detractors to “Get your panties out of a bunch. It’s their relationship and their humor dynamic. Not yours.”
Bell Misses ‘Today’ Appearance in Joke Aftermath
Bell had been in New York doing press but had an unexplained absence from her scheduled ‘Today’ appearance.
Amid the back-to-back controversies over domestic violence jokes, Bell missed a scheduled appearance onToday on Wednesday, October 22.
The actress was supposed to join her TV sister Justine Lupe, as the costars of Netflix’s Nobody Wants This were booked to promote the Netflix rom-com’s Season 2, as the 10 new episodes premiere on Thursday, October 23.
Instead, Lupe did the interview solo, while Bell’s absence wasn’t addressed.
On Monday, the Frozen star shared a post showing a series of various outfits and posed with her fellow cast members, noting they were doing press ahead of the show’s second season drop.
However, Bell has yet to address the DV scandal, and one fan angrily wrote in the comments of her fashion snapshots, “We did not forget your last post!”
