Kristen Bell’s Controversial Murder Joke in Anniversary Post Sparks ‘Dateline’ Attention

“Dateline” seems to have found a moment of levity.

After Kristen Bell made waves with an “inappropriate” murder joke on Instagram, the popular true crime show’s account couldn’t resist chiming in with a cheeky comment: “Screenshotted.”

This playful remark from “Dateline” struck a chord with social media users, racking up over 45,000 likes and sparking more than 150 responses. Fans of the show and Bell alike applauded the comment with reactions such as, “Dateline for the win!” “Best comment award 🥇,” “You win the internet today,” and “Savage.”

Bell’s post came over the weekend as she celebrated her 12th wedding anniversary with husband Dax Shepard—an occasion she humorously admitted to initially forgetting. To mark the milestone, she shared a heartwarming photo of herself giving Shepard a big hug as they sat comfortably on their bed.

The 45-year-old actress accompanied the image with a lighthearted caption, saying, “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.’ ❤️.”

The “unbelievably tone-deaf” and “insensitive” sentiments angered many commenters, as several pointed out that October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Others reminded Bell that spousal abuse “isn’t a joke” or something to take lightly.

Many called the message “weird” and “disturbing,” and it even left one fan “question[ing Bell] as a person.”

Someone also wondered, “How can any self respecting woman stay with a man who ‘jokes’ like that? I’m not even a very serious person, but that would have me leaving so fast your head would spin.”

However, a handful of supporters defended the star and called her critics “too sensitive.”

Reps for Bell — who has since limited the comments allowed on her post — has not yet addressed the backlash or responded to Page Six’s request for comment.