Holy Voices, Unholy Mess: Fox News Podcast Uses Stars’ Old Audio Without Their Knowledge
In a celestial clash of faith, media, and intellectual property, Fox News Media finds itself at the center of a growing controversy just days before the launch of its ambitious new Christian podcast. “The Life of Jesus Podcast,” a 52-episode series set to debut on November 30th, promises to “bring stories from the New Testament to life through immersive storytelling” with a star-studded cast of over 100 actors. However, the project has been plunged into turmoil as multiple A-list stars, including Kristen Bell and Brian Cox, have come forward to declare they were completely unaware their voices were being used, revealing they were “blindsided” by the repurposing of their recordings from a 15-year-old audiobook project.
The scandal erupted when Kristen Bell, who is listed as the voice of Mary Magdalene, was reportedly asked to appear on Fox and Friends to promote the series—a request that revealed the entire project to her for the first time. Through her representative, Bell confirmed to Rolling Stone that she never granted permission for her old audiobook recordings to be reused. Her shock was echoed by Brian Cox, cast as the voice of God, and Malcolm McDowell, voicing Caiaphas, who also confirmed through their teams that they were in the dark. The situation grew more suspicious with Rolling Stone’s report of an alleged producer’s note instructing one actor 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.”
In response to the firestorm, a Fox News spokesperson provided a statement to Premier Christian News asserting that the audio was legally licensed from Gulfstream Studios’ “The Truth and Life Dramatized Audio Bible” and was produced with “full cooperation and participation by all the actors involved.” This claim stands in stark opposition to the shocked reactions from the talent, creating a classic “he said, they said” narrative that raises profound questions about the ownership and legacy use of vocal performances. As the launch date looms, the podcast intended to spread a message of divine truth is instead generating a very modern drama of contractual ambiguity and celebrity outrage.
