Now that the dust is starting to settle in the aftermath of Kristen Bell‘s controversial anniversary Instagram post for Dax Shepard, it seems her choice not to respond to the backlash is a very intentional one. A source close to the Nobody Wants This star told The Daily Mail that Kristen refuses to apologize for offending people with her post — at this point, she doesn’t want to back down or be “bullied” by her social media followers.
It all started with a post she shared over a week ago.
Alongside a photo of Dax hugging one of the couple’s daughters, Kristen wrote, “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.'”
Many of her fans believed her comment was inappropriate, and that it made light of the very real danger that domestic violence victims face every day — especially considering the fact that October happens to be Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Kristen hasn’t responded to the backlash at all.
Though Kristen does appear to have limited the comments on her Instagram post, it still remains live on her feed, more than one week after she posted it.
Even while promoting season two of Nobody Wants This, Kristen hasn’t mentioned the backlash publicly — and according to what those close to her have told the Daily Mail, that’s not going to change.
An insider said she has no plans to take the post down.
“She doesn’t want to be told how to live her life or be bullied into doing something she doesn’t want to do,” the source said. “Many would have liked her to apologize or to have taken down the post, but she hasn’t, and the post is still there.”
The insider added, “She feels that there are bigger issues in the world than what she said. Given the chance to do it all over again, she would.”
Some of her friends are reportedly “happy” she’s facing backlash.
Apparently, Kristen’s friends are “happy she is getting heat over her comments because she often never sees how her words, whether she thinks she says them in jest or not, can actually hurt people.”
Meanwhile, if nothing else, it sounds like she can count on Dax to take her side on this one. The source said that he’s “in full support on everything she chooses to do from this moment forward” and “thought the post was funny.”
