Kristen Bell & Dax Shepard Were Met With Criticism After Joking That Dax Would Never "Kill His Wife” Like "A Lot Of Men Do"
They have been accused of making light of domestic violence.
Kristen Bell limited comments on a recent Instagram post after sharing that her husband, Dax Shepard, once promised not to “kill” her like “a lot of husbands do” despite being “heavily incentivized.”
Oh! Okay!
The full caption reads: “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.’❤️”
In the photo, Kristen sits on Dax’s lap in what looks like a warm embrace. Unfortunately, the reception at the post was a bit icy.
One user wrote, "That’s….a very weird thing to say.”
Someone else highlighted that October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month: “hey! i’ve been a fan for a while. I just wanted to say that please don’t joke about domestic violence. Please keep in mind that this is something real that lots of people suffer on a daily basis. And the text could be triggering for victims.”
“Thats a wildly sad and insensitive thing to say, considering it's domestic violence awareness month and thousands of women have died at the hands of the man they trusted…” another comment read.
“Crazy thing to joke about honestly. Sincerely, someone who thankfully survived,” one person wrote.
Women experience domestic violence at much higher rates than men, especially severe physical violence and sexual assault. Women consistently show higher rates of intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and stalking.
Also, women in the U.S. who are pregnant or who have recently given birth are more likely to be murdered than to die from obstetric causes—and these homicides are linked to a deadly mix of intimate partner violence and firearms, according to researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
So, you can see why this joke how wanting to murder your wife but fighting against those urges because you’re a good guy and love her so much is actually kind of disturbing and possibly triggering for those who have experienced domestic violence (1 in 3 women, approximately).
Many celebs in the comments took it as a joke and even played along, with actress Mae Whitman writing: “Only because we’d never let him get away with it ❤️.”
“He should write for Hallmark,” comedian Howie Mandel quipped.
The official account for Dateline even chimed in, commenting, “Screenshotted.”
