By India McCarty
Kristen Bell is one of many Hollywood stars slated to appear in Fox New’s upcoming “Life of Jesus Podcast.” There’s just one problem — Bell says she had no idea she was part of the project.
“FOX News Audio has signed a new licensing deal with Gulfstream Studios to air ‘The Life of Jesus Podcast,’ beginning Sunday, November 30th,” a press release from Fox reads. “As the latest addition to FOX Faith, FOX News Media’s religion vertical, the 52-episode podcast series will bring stories from the New Testament to life through immersive storytelling.”
Bell voices Mary Magdalene, part of a cast that includes stars like Sean Astin (Matthew), Neal McDonough (Jesus), Brian Cox (Voice of God), Malcolm McDowell (Caiaphas), John Rhys-Davis (narrator) and Julia Ormond (Mary Mother of God).
However, shortly after the podcast was announced, a representative for Bell told Rolling Stone she had no idea she was part of this project and “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.”
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Bell and the rest of the cast recorded this audio almost 15 years ago for a planned audiobook project, “The Truth & Life Dramatized Audio Bible: New Testament.”
Kristen Bell, Brian Cox, and other actors who voiced an audiobook about the life of Jesus were blindsided to learn it’s becoming a 52-episode Fox News podcast for the holidays.
Kristen Bell, who played Mary Magdalene, had no knowledge of the deal. Brian Cox — the audiobook’s… pic.twitter.com/GMmhpOZHWw
— Variety (@Variety) November 21, 2025
Cox and McDowell’s reps also made statements about their lack of knowledge about THE LIFE OF JESUS PODCAST.
“We had no knowledge these recordings were being redistributed as a podcast until this week,” McDowell’s representative told Entertainment Weekly. “This was long ago forgotten about.”
A spokesperson for Fox News Media told PEOPLE, “Gulfstream Studios produced the ‘The Life of Jesus Podcast’ from ‘The Truth and Life Dramatized Audio Bible,’ which was licensed by FOX News Audio, with full cooperation and participation by all the actors involved.”
Each 30-minute episode of “The Life of Jesus Podcast” will be introduced by FOX & FRIENDS co-host Ainsley Earhardt, “guiding listeners through the life, teachings and miracles of Jesus Christ,” per the press release.
“The new podcast, which will debut in four installments, further expands FOX Faith’s growing library of faith-based content across audio and digital platforms, offering audiences an accessible way to engage with biblical narratives,” the release continued.
While Bell, Cox, McDowell and the rest of the project’s stars might not have been aware their previous work was being repurposed, many people are excited to hear Hollywood stars bring the Bible to life in the “The Life of Jesus Podcast.”
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