Kristen Bell has a starring role in Fox News Media’s latest faith-based podcast, “The Life of Jesus” — but she had no idea.
Representatives for the “Nobody Wants This” star confirmed to TheWrap that she was blindsided by Wednesday’s announcement of the podcast in which she voices Mary Magdalene. The podcast used audio she recorded for a separate project 15 years ago. She only learned of the podcast one day before the announcement went public, and no one from her team approved the press release or consulted Bell until Variety broke the story. The “Frozen” voice actress’ team is now looking into the legality of repurposing her voice for the Fox Faith production.
The 52-episode series is part of the network’s religious vertical Fox Faith. In it, Bell is not the only celebrity voicing characters from the Bible; Brian Cox stars as the Voice of God, Neal McDonough as Jesus, Sean Astin as Matthew and Julia Ormond as Mary Mother of God, to name a few.
Bell originally voiced Mary Magdalene in 2010 for “The Truth and Life Dramatized Audio Bible,” a New Testament audiobook. A producer tied to that Bible audiobook has since partnered with Gulfstream Studios, the company licensing a deal with Fox Faith, to air a podcast beginning Sunday, Nov. 30.
While some of the actors have been open about their Christian faith, Cox has previously referred to Fox News as “the devil.” McDonough, however, is a devout Catholic and once claimed Hollywood turned on him because he would not kiss women who were not his wife. The 23-hour audiobook, which initially featured the stars, has been repurposed for the 52-episode podcast series.
Ainsley Earhardt, co-host of “Fox & Friends,” will introduce each episode and “guide listeners through the life, teachings and miracles of Jesus Christ.”
According to Fox, the podcast will be batched in four installments to air aligned with key moments in the Christian calendar. The first 13 will air Nov. 30 tied to Advent and an 13 additional episodes will be released on Dec. 21, during the week of Christmas. The other two batches will be released tied to Lent and Palm Sunday.
