Dax Shepard refuses to entertain the rumor mill.
Weeks after Shepard’s unconventional flirting method went viral, the actor shut down the “deeply insulting” rumors that he was abusive to his wife, Kristen Bell, during the “Fact Check” segment of his podcast on Nov. 9.
“Another round of me being a terrible person was in the media and like, I avoided that. But then it hit Kristen’s doorstep really hard, and then I got to find out everything that people are saying about me,” Shepard said.
Shepard’s response comes amid backlash the couple received after Bell appeared on “Armchair Expert” last month, where she revealed that her husband flirts by giving other people compliments, such as telling a waiter or waitress they have “incredible eyelashes” or “gorgeous eyes.”
The “Parenthood” alum refuted the “weird narrative” painting him as someone who was “controlling, abusive, now flirting with people in public.”
Shepard said the rumors hurt especially since he grew up around “certain men who behaved a certain way,” which led him to dedicate his whole life to “being the opposite of all that.”
“I don’t ever yell at my children. I don’t swear at them. I don’t yell at my wife,” he said. “To have given it my all to be the opposite of what now some group of people is saying I am is, I, its hard. I don’t love it.”
Shepard also found the rumors “deeply insulting” to Bell.
“She’s what? She’s sitting in the house with her two daughters and modeling some abusive relationship? Like, it’s very offensive to her.” Shepard, who shares daughters Lincoln, 13, and Delta, 11, with Bell, said.
Dax Shepard says wife’s comments got ‘intentionally, easily confused’
Shepard also took time to clarify the comments that landed the couple in hot water, noting that Bell’s remarks were phrased in a way that “got intentionally, easily confused for people.”
“We’re saying, ‘I flirt with Kristen by tipping people a lot. And I flirt with Kristen by complimenting people. If you think I’m complimenting like hot, young waitresses, yeah, you got a problem,” he said. “I’m finding the dude that I don’t think has had a compliment in a while and tell him I love his shoes.”
“It’s always somebody that I want to make their day. And so, those compliments is flirting with Kristen, but it got to be, when it went through the grinder, that I flirt with people in front of Kristen,” Shepard continued.
Shepard added that he can generally brush off rumors but noted that the number that circulates every couple of months about him being a “terrible man” makes him wonder if that’s the role he’s been given.
The longtime couple, who tied the knot on Oct. 17, 2013, is no stranger to controversy. Last year, Bell was subject to intense scrutiny over an anniversary post, in which she joked about Shepard promising he “would never kill (her).”
Bell also defended her husband, saying during an appearance on “The Drew Barrymore Show” last month that Shepard is “committed to growth in all aspects.” She added: “He’s a lifelong learner (with a) growth mindset.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dax Shepard addresses rumors he’s ‘abusive’ to wife Kristen Bell
