Kristen Bell is walking back her previous statements about her kids’ bath time routine, claiming it was all just a “joke” — seriously??
Sitting down to chat with Entertainment Tonight on Thursday, The Good Place alum was asked about the great bathing debate she and her husband Dax Shepard unknowingly started with Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, and his co-host Monica Padman while recording an episode of The Armchair Expert podcast in July. Rather than laugh off the question, the momma of two admitted she “lost a lot of faith in the human race” over the reaction, adding:
“I thought, ‘America is not gonna dig deep into this and want all the intel on how often people bathe, right?’ Because there are much more important topics.”
Of course there are, but when you claim to wait until you “see the dirt” on your kids before bathing them, sometimes going close to a week without a good rinse, people are going to talk. And when other celebs double down for you…
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As you probably heard, the Frozen star’s comment unearthed a slew of dirty secrets! So many celebs came out of the woodwork to announce that they — not their kids — abstained from regular showers as well. Jake Gyllenhaal claimed showering became “less necessary” in his life and Stranger Things’ Joe Keery said he just doesn’t wash his hair — EVER! It felt hard to find a celebrity who had a normal shower routine, TBH.
But now, the 41-year-old thinks it’s ridiculous that the original conversation was ever taken “seriously,” explaining:
“But it was kind of funny when, like, we started being asked about it and then the interviewers didn’t even know that Dax’s podcast was the one that started the questions. And by the way, a room full of four comedians — Dax, Monica Padman, Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis — who were ‘joking’ about bathing, and then the world took it seriously.”
Hmm. We listened to the chat and if the couples were being facetious they were awfully subtle about it. The funny thing is, Bell also doubled down on them when in interviews, such as her appearance on The View earlier this month. When asked about their anti-bath stance, the Veronica Mars alum seemed to stand her ground more, saying:
“Once you catch a whiff, that’s biology’s way of letting you know you need to clean it up. There’s a red flag. Honestly, it’s just bacteria. Once you get bacteria, you gotta be like, ‘Get in the tub or the shower.’”
The Parenthood lead also clarified:
“We bathed our children every single night prior to bed as their routine, then somehow they just started going to sleep on their own without their routine, and we had to start saying [to each other], like, ‘Hey, when was the last time you bathed them?’”
See what we mean? They didn’t say right away, JK y’all! They talked about the evolution of their parenting choices. Why would fans assume they were pulling some elaborate joke?
Frustrated by the whole ordeal, Bell told ET:
“I think people maybe need a little bit of a lesson of what is a joke and what is not. Because now people are acting like this is an actual Supreme Court case.”
That’s a little much. Most of the folks weighing in on the debate are still doing so jovially. It’s a nice distraction from having to fight with people about masks and vaccinations tbh.
She concluded:
“I think it’s on the listener to deduce whether or not it’s a joke, to be honest.”
Uh huh.
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Ashton and Mila at least made it clear right away they had a sense of humor about the whole thing, poking fun at themselves in a video that actually had everyone laughing — watch it (below)!
Oh, and let’s not forget that Kristen tried blaming her hygiene habits on the California drought! While promoting her new game show Family Game Fight, the voice of Gossip Girl dished to Daily Beast Live:
“This is the other thing — is California has been in a drought forever… it’s just like, responsibility for your environment. We don’t have a ton of water, so when I shower, I’ll grab the girls and push them in there with me so we all use the same shower water.”
So… What’s the truth? Were Kristen and Dax really joking about their bath time rituals… and keeping the joke going with explanations and elaborations for days and days? OR is she just saying that now to get people to stop asking her about what she does behind closed bathroom doors?? Watch her full interview to decide for yourself!
Thoughts, Perezcious readers? We know you have ’em! Sound OFF in the comments (below).
[Image via Kristen Bell/Dax Shepard/Instagram & Drew Altizer/WENN]
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