Dax Shepard Reacts To Wife’s Viral Anniversary Post

Dax Shepard is weighing in several months after Kristen Bell‘s anniversary post in October 2025 sparked widespread attention online. The actor and podcast host talked about the viral post with comedian Nikki Glaser, sharing that he wasn’t aware there was such a strong reaction to his wife’s message.

Kristen Bell Faced Backlash Following A Post Honoring Dax Shepard

In October 2025, Bell took to social media to celebrate her husband for their 12th wedding anniversary, adding that Shepard once said after they watched “Dateline,” “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.”

As The Blast previously reported, online users criticized the actress, calling her out for being “insensitive” and “tasteless,” especially since October was Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Some also commented on the couple’s relationship, saying the actress needed protection from her “red flag” husband.

Shepard is now speaking out about the backlash in an episode of his podcast “Armchair Expert” with his co-host Monica Padman and their guest, Nikki Glaser. Shepard said, “Don’t insult my wife. She doesn’t need your protection. You don’t need to diminish her.”

Nikki Glaser Wanted To Make A Joke About The Post

“My wife has total f-cking autonomy and is a gangster. So when you say that you need to come in and protect her, it’s actually offensive to her,” Shepard said, referring to the people who criticized Bell.

Glaser, who hosted the Golden Globes for the second year in a row in January, said she initially wanted to joke about the Shepard-Bell controversy but ultimately decided not to, as it was “old news” by then. Moreover, she didn’t want to do it since she and Shepard were friends, and she didn’t know how he would take it.

The comedian then shared the joke, saying,” ‘Die My Love. ‘If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.’ ‘Sorry, Baby.’ These are not just captions to Dax Shepard’s Instagram post for Mother’s Day, or for Christmas, or captions for his anniversary post. These are movies nominated tonight,” which made the host laugh.

Dax Shepard Wasn’t Aware Of The Backlash

Glaser said she didn’t reach out to Shepard after the controversy, since she wasn’t sure he was even aware of the issue. Shepard then said that he wasn’t aware of all the online backlash that was happening, saying, “I had no clue.”

He said Bell was aware of the situation because of her publicist, but they didn’t inform him. For more than a week, he was oblivious that there was an uproar over Bell’s anniversary post. He only learned about it when someone “comforted” him, and he had no idea what the person was talking about.

Glaser shared that what bothered her about the situation was how people online were so invested in the post when there were bigger issues in the world. “This is what you’re talking about right now, of all things? You f-cking losers. You’re wasting your time getting angry about this. Go read some files,” she said.

Kristen Bell Didn’t Address The Controversy

Following the criticism, Bell restricted the comments on her post when the backlash intensified. She also skipped a scheduled appearance on the “TODAY” show shortly after, with sources claiming that it was because of the intense scrutiny. However, she later appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” where she promoted her show, but she didn’t address the controversy.

Domestic violence advocates urged the actress to issue an apology, as reported by The Blast, as her post was insensitive to victims, even if veiled in humor. A public relations expert also said Bell’s silence was “brutally ugly” and advised the actress to apologize and take accountability. Despite several calls for action, Bell didn’t directly respond to the criticism.

Dax Shepard And Kristen Bell Have Been Called Out For Other Statements

Shepard and Bell are known for their honesty when it comes to sharing about their personal lives, but the anniversary post wasn’t the first time they’ve been caught in the public’s crosshairs.

Amid the backlash, a video of Shepard from 2012 resurfaced, where he joked about “hitting” his wife after she commented on a car he fixed.

In 2021, the couple went viral for saying that they don’t bathe their children until they could “smell the stink,” saying they were conserving water. Bell also said they allowed their kids to drink non-alcoholic beer.

In 2024, Bell was criticized for saying that she and Shepard let their kids roam free for several hours in a theme park while they stayed at a hotel.