November 21, 2025
Web desk
Fox News’ new faith-centered project has run into controversy after Kristen Bell said she never agreed to have her 15-year-old audio work repackaged for a religious podcast. Fox recently unveiled The Life of Jesus Podcast, a 52-episode series launching under its Fox Faith brand and hosted by Ainsley Earhardt.
Bell’s team says the actress was completely blindsided. According to her representative, she only found out when Fox reached out to book her on Fox & Friends a day before the announcement. The audio in question was originally recorded in 2010 for The Truth and Life Dramatized Audio Bible, not for any Fox project.
Several other actors listed in Fox’s press release including Brian Cox, Sean Astin, Neal McDonough, Malcolm McDowell, John Rhys-Davies, and Julia Ormond were reportedly just as surprised. Representatives for Rhys-Davies and Cox told Rolling Stone their clients had no idea the old recordings were being reused.
Fox News, however, maintains that the podcast was created “with full cooperation and participation by all the actors involved.” Despite the confusion, the first batch of episodes for The Life of Jesus Podcast is still set to debut on November 30.
