On Wednesday, Fox News Media announced in a splashy rollout that its religious vertical, Fox Faith, was expanding.
As part of a new tentpole project, the network is launching The Life of Jesus Podcast, a 52-episode series that will guide listeners “through the life, teachings, and miracles of Jesus Christ.” Hosted by Fox & Friends star Ainsley Earhardt, the press release boasted that more than 100 notable actors were signed on, including megastar Kristen Bell as the voice of Mary Magdalene.
But that was news to Bell, who was blindsided by the announcement as she had recorded the audio for a separate project 15 years ago. Her rep tells Rolling Stone that she only learned that Fox Faith had acquired the long-forgotten project and was spinning it into a brand-new podcast when her team received a request for her to appear on Fox & Friends a day before the announcement was blasted out. The rep adds that Bell never gave permission for the old audiobook to be repurposed into a new podcast series.
Originally, Bell voiced Mary Magdalene for The Truth and Life Dramatized Audio Bible, a New Testament audiobook released in 2010. A producer tied to the Bible audiobook has since partnered with Gulfstream Studios, which is licensing The Life of Jesus Podcast to Fox Faith, according to publicly available information.
What’s more, the audio Bible includes the same celebrity names that are now being touted in Fox’s press release, including Brian Cox, Sean Astin, Neal McDonough, Malcolm McDowell, John Rhys-Davies, and Julia Ormond. While some of the actors have been open about their Christian faith, Cox, who is voicing the role of God, has previously called Fox News “the devil.” A rep for Rhys-Davies also confirms to Rolling Stone that the actor only learned of the “repurposed” project earlier this week. (Rolling Stone has reached out to the other stars involved for further comment.)
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The network seems to have taken the 15-year-old, 23-hour audiobook and retooled it into a multipart podcast series, with the new additions coming from Earhardt. In a note obtained by Rolling Stone, a producer associated with the podcast has asked at least one celebrity star to “not mention that this audio New Testament Bible was produced years ago, we’d like it to feel like something that was produced more recently.” (Rolling Stone has reached out to Fox News Media for comment.)
The first batch of episodes for The Life of Jesus Podcast will air on Nov. 30.