Kristen Bell's anniversary post to husband Dax Shepard facing backlash over 'insensitive' joke about him 'not killing her'
After sharing a 'tone deaf' anniversary tribute to husband Dax Shepard earlier this week, Kristen Bell has found herself in hot water with online critics.
The 45-year-old Frozen actress took to Instagram on Saturday (18 October) where she thanked her movie star hubby - with whom she shares two daughters, Lincoln, 12, and Delta, 10 - for their time together as they marked their anniversary.
Bell and Shepard have been an item since 2007, when they met at a birthday dinner set up for Forgetting Sarah Marshall producer Shauna Robertson. Two years later, they quietly got engaged.
But it wasn't until 2013 that the big-name stars tied the knot in a low-key Beverly Hills County Clerk's Office ceremony, having waited until same-sex marriage was legalised in California to wed.
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Bell's latest Instagram upload featured a photo of Shepard, 50, holding his wife in his arms, while the couple sat together on the edge of a bed.
It was the wording used by Bell in the caption, however, that set tongues wagging for all the wrong reasons.
She jokingly penned: "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'."
While some fans of the A-list couple congratulated them on their marital milestone, others found themselves triggered by the timing of Bell's post, due to its reference to violence.
One hit out: "Kristen there’s no way you posted this during domestic violence awareness month."
A second questioned: "And we didn't see any flags in this?"
"Is femicide not a thing in the US?" a third questioned. "Here in the Netherlands a woman is killed by her (ex)partner every 8 days. So to post this and call it sweet or a joke is wild to me."
Another wrote: "Thats a wildly sad and insensitive thing to say considering it's domestic violence awareness month and thousands of women have died a the hands of the man they trusted..."
One also hit out: "Just an fyi, posting this caption during domestic violence awareness month is unbelievably tone deaf - please reconsider."
LADbible Group has previously contacted reps for Bell and Shepard for comment.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, please know that you are not alone. You can talk in confidence 24 hours a day to the national domestic violence helpline Refuge on 0808 2000 247.
Rhianna Benson