The 52-episode Christian podcast was announced with a number of actors involved yet many claim they had no idea about it
The Fox News announcement of a new podcast series on Jesus Christ has turned into a bizarre holiday tale in Hollywood, as several actors attached to massive, 52-episode project claim their recordings date back 15 years and are being released without their prior knowledge.
The new audiobook titled The Life of Jesus Christ Podcast, announced on Wednesday as part of a splashy rollout for the network’s new Christian vertical called Fox Faith, purports to guide listeners “through the life, teachings, and miracles of Jesus Christ”, with each episode introduced by Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt.
The announcement boasted that over 100 actors had signed on to participate in the project, with a voice cast including Kristen Bell as Mary Magdalene, Sean Astin as Matthew, Neal McDonough as Jesus, Brian Cox as the Voice of God, Malcolm McDowell as Caiaphas, John Rhys-Davies as the narrator and Julia Ormond as Mary.
But reps for Bell claim that the actor was blindsided by the announcement, as she had recorded the audio fifteen years ago. She only learned that Fox planned to release a podcast with her name attached day before the announcement, when her team received an invitation to appear on Fox & Friends the following day, her reps told Rolling Stone. Her team added that she never gave permission for the original audiobook – The Truth and Life Dramatized Audio Bible, released in 2010 and acquired by Fox News Media via a licensing deal with a company called Gulfstream Studios – to be repurposed into a new podcast.
