Kristen Bell was reportedly blindsided this week after discovering her voice had been used in a new Fox News Media podcast about the life of Jesus.
On Wednesday, Fox News Media unveiled Fox Faith, a new religious vertical aimed at ‘uplifting Christian storytelling,’ alongside its first major project: The Life of Jesus Podcast.
Billed as a sweeping 52-episode audio journey ‘through the life, teachings, and miracles of Jesus Christ,’ the series is hosted by Fox & Friends anchor Ainsley Earhardt and, according to Fox’s press release, features ‘over 100 celebrated actors,’ including Bell as Mary Magdalene.
But Bell, best known for The Good Place and Frozen, had no idea her name — or her voice — would be attached to the project.
Her representatives told Rolling Stone that she only learned of the podcast when Fox reached out to invite her on Fox & Friends the day before the public announcement.
The actor, they said, ‘never gave permission for her previous audio performance to be reused or repurposed.’
That ‘previous performance’ dates back fifteen years.
In 2010, Bell voiced Mary Magdalene in The Truth and Life Dramatized Audio Bible, a star-studded New Testament audiobook featuring Brian Cox, Sean Astin, Neal McDonough, Malcolm McDowell, John Rhys-Davies, and Julia Ormond.
According to publicly available production records, a producer associated with that original Bible project has since joined Gulfstream Studios, which is licensing The Life of Jesus Podcast to Fox Faith.
In other words, Fox’s ‘brand-new’ Jesus podcast appears to be a refurbished version of a much older property — with the same recordings and the same roster of actors, many of whom were unaware of the reuse.
A representative for Rhys-Davies, who voiced the Apostle Peter in the 2010 audiobook, confirmed to Rolling Stone that the actor also ‘only learned of the repurposed project this week.’
Meanwhile, Brian Cox — listed in Fox’s materials as the voice of God — has previously described Fox News as “the devil.”
Fox Faith’s rollout, which had been pitched as a high-profile expansion into religious media, now faces an early test of credibility.
The network has not yet commented publicly on whether the original performers were notified or compensated for the reuse of their work.
Metro has contacted reps of Kristen Bell for comment.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.