Kristen Bell gave a tribute to her husband, Dax Shepard, on their 12th wedding anniversary on Instagram on October 18. The actor soon found herself in hot water with some of her fans due to what she wrote in the post’s caption.
However, instead of responding to the backlash, the “Nobody Wants This” actor chose to maintain silence. She even refrained from removing the post from her social media account. Now, an expert has explained why her silence worked in her favor.
Kristen Bell’s ‘offense’ was more ‘audience projection than actual harm,’ claims expert
Kristen Bell’s “offense,” surrounding her anniversary Instagram post, for her husband, Dax Shepard, was reportedly more “audience projection than actual harm.” The report came after the “The Good Place” actor faced criticism over the caption on the Instagram post.
While celebrating their 12th wedding anniversary, she wrote, “Happy 12th wedding anniversary to the man who once said to me:” She continued, “I would never kill you. A lot of men have killed their wives at a certain point.” It further read, “Even though I’m heavily incentivized to kill you, I never would.”
Fans allegedly found the caption “insensitive.” However, despite all the backlash, Kristen Bell chose to stay silent on the matter. After that, within days, all the criticism allegedly went away. As reported by the Daily Mail, a communications expert, Sarah Ekenberg, told them that “Kristen Bell didn’t owe the public an emotional reckoning.” The person continued, “because her ‘offense’ was more about audience projection than actual harm.”
In the meantime, the expert further explained why Kristen Bell’s choice not to respond to the backlash worked. The person said, “These moments tend to flare fast and fade faster.” Sarah Ekenberg continued, “and by not feeding the outrage, she let the news cycle move on naturally.”
The expert also expressed, “We’ve entered an era where the public is exhausted by performative apologies.” “Silence, by contrast, can signal confidence and perspective,” added the expert.
