From the uproar surrounding their bathing admissions, to the revelation that they let their children drink non-alcoholic beer, Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell are no strangers to sparking a public debate.
And in this week’s installment of the Armchair Expert podcast, the couple weighed in on the responses to some of their memorable public controversies — starting with the recent criticism over a chaotic airport story.
For a quick refresher, Kristen, Dax, and their two daughters found themselves “stranded” at Boston Logan International Airport with some friends in July due to a number of flight delays and last-minute changes.
They documented the stressful experience on their respective Instagram accounts, revealing that they couldn’t even leave the airport because there were apparently “zero” available hotel rooms within a 50-mile radius.
With no choice but to sleep on the ground for the night, the pair resorted to spending $600 on bedsheets, blankets, and neck pillows. However, their investment sadly went to waste, as just a few hours later, they were told they had to leave when the terminal closed.
“Stranded at the Boston airport, 9 hours of delays,” Kristen wrote on her Instagram story at the time, giving fans a glimpse into their not-so-glamorous experience. “There were no hotels avail within 50 miles and we wanted to stay but we were kicked out... And had to find a place to stay right AFTER dad had taken his sleep aids.”
Luckily, they managed to find a place to stay with “friends of friends” who offered up their attic, with Kristen later adding that their unexpected sleepover was “heaven.”
So, being that the couple shared the experience online, it didn’t take long for the story to make headlines — and soon enough, they were met with criticism.
To summarize, people had a lot of questions, ranging from concerns about the reported lack of hotel rooms, to the fact that they splurged $600 on makeshift bedding for the night.
“Maybe it's just me, but they seriously couldn't find ONE SINGLE hotel room in the entire area? Boston is not a small town, so it's not like there's limited options,” one person commented under a BuzzFeed post about the airport debacle.
“This story is such BS,” echoed another. “50 miles from Logan is a LOT of space. There is absolutely no way every hotel was sold out from NH to RI.”
In fact, some even went as far as to speculate that Dax and Kristen were lying about the whole thing.
And now, speaking together on Dax’s podcast, the duo addressed the backlash, accusing their critics of making a big deal out of something pretty minor.
After recounting the entire situation in more detail, Dax and Kristen recalled that they actually had “great attitudes” about the whole thing, in spite of all the stress.
They started by acknowledging the accusations that they’d lied about not being able to find a place to sleep within 50 miles, explaining that there was a high demand for hotel rooms that night because so many flights had been canceled before theirs.
“Everyone knew before us [that their flights were canceled] because they kept kicking ours,” Dax explained. “So by the time we acknowledge, ‘No, this flight isn't going out tonight,’ everyone’s already grabbed the hotel rooms.”
Looking back, Dax expressed that he was incredibly “confused” by the “hostile” response, admitting that he couldn’t “figure out what makes someone mad about that story.”
In response, Kristen suggested that those who are lacking in “emotional and intellectual capacity” will always find something to criticize.
“They want to be angry about something,” she said, summarizing the backlash. “It was anything. It was like, ‘You’re not being kicked out,’ ‘Of course there were hotels,’ ‘I can’t believe you spent $600 on pillows.’”
Speaking about the criticism they face more generally, Kristen went on to say that some “people suffer from outrage addiction.”
“You have to stop trying to prove things to people because it happens everywhere,” she said. “It doesn’t just happen to us, it happens to every single person, no matter how known you are on social media. Someone makes a comment and you have to ignore them because they’re not on your level.”
Taking a more analytical approach, Dax theorized that the reason he and Kristen attract so much criticism is due to a political divide.
“I guess my conclusion after this — which you guys may or may not agree with — it was so hostile and angry that I thought, ‘This has to be part of the political schism,’” he suggested. “We have to somehow just represent liberals. And no matter what we would do, it would be proof that we’re crazy or stupid or whatever. It felt like there’s something political.”
He added: “I don’t know why you’d be so mad, unless we just symbolize liberals.”
In turn, Kristen said she felt Dax might be “giving it too much thought,” and that their haters are simply just “unhappy” people.
“Ultimately, it’s not about us, it’s about the person making the comment,” she said. “People are going to make shitty comments, and the more time and energy you give to thinking about it, the more they’re justified to do it. I don’t really think about it.”
