Kristen Bell and Brian Cox among actors shocked they’re attached to Fox News podcast | Brian Cox
Fox News’ announcement of a new podcast series about Jesus Christ has turned into a strange holiday tale in Hollywood; Many actors involved in the massive 52-episode project claimed that their recordings were from 15 years ago and were released without their prior knowledge.
The new audiobook, titled The Life of Jesus Christ Podcast, announced Wednesday for the network’s new Christian vertical called Fox Faith, claims to guide listeners through “the life, teachings and miracles of Jesus Christ,” with each episode introduced by Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt.
The announcement stated that more than 100 actors had signed on to participate in the project, including Kristen Bell as Mary Magdalene, Sean Astin as Matthew, Neal McDonough as Jesus, Brian Cox as the Voice of God, Malcolm McDowell as Caiaphas, John Rhys-Davies as the narrator, and Julia Ormond as Mary.
However, Bell’s representatives claim that the actor was caught off guard by this announcement, having recorded the audio fifteen years ago. His representatives said Fox was planning to launch a podcast with his name attached the day before the announcement, but his team only learned the next day when he received an invitation to appear on Fox & Friends. Rolling stone. His team added that he never authorized the original audiobook, The Truth and Life Dramatized Audio Bible., It launched in 2010 and was acquired by Fox News Media through a licensing deal with a company called Gulfstream Studios and repurposed as a new podcast.
Reps for Cox, McDowell and Rhys-Davies confirmed to Rolling Stone that they were similarly shocked by the news; Some only learned about the new podcast Thursday, they said, as news of Bell’s confusion spread. “Brian recorded audio for a project over a decade ago,” a representative for Cox said in a statement. “He had no idea the audio would be reimagined for a new podcast series in 2025. Brian only learned about the podcast today.”
A spokesman for McDowell said the team “found out about it when everyone else found out about it. We were never consulted, nothing was renegotiated and we would not have approved it.” A representative for Rhys-Davies said the actor became aware of the “repurposed” project earlier this week.
Rolling Stone also received a note from a producer affiliated with the new podcast at Fox, a famous cast member, who said “we want this audio New Testament Bible to feel like something produced more recently, not to mention it was produced years ago.” According to the magazine, Fox News has turned the 15-year-old, 23-hour audiobook into a multi-episode podcast series with new additions from Earhardt.
Some of the actors purportedly appearing on the new podcast spoke openly about their Christian beliefs, while others criticized Fox News or the closely associated Trump administration. Cox has previously referred to the right-wing news network as “evil.”
“Gulfstream Studios produced The Life of Jesus Podcast from The Truth and Life Dramatized Audio Bible, licensed by Fox News Audio, with the full cooperation and participation of all actors involved,” a spokesperson for Fox News told Rolling Stone.
The new podcast is part of a larger push by Fox News Media into Christian-themed programming, aimed at attracting more subscribers to its Fox Nation subscription service. “I think there’s an insatiable appetite among a very passionate audience and it’s underserved,” said Jason Klarman, director of digital and marketing for Fox News Media. Diversity This week. Earhardt before helped launch Fox Nation has a Bible study show.
The Life of Jesus Christ Podcast will premiere on November 30 of the Christian calendar, with 13-episode installments airing at the beginning of Advent, Christmas week, Lent, and the beginning of Palm Sunday.
