Dax Says the Internet Wrote the Abusive Version of Him

Dax Shepard said the "weird narrative" calling him controlling and abusive "hit Kristen's doorstep really hard," per Us Weekly. The narrative began when his wife praised his flirting style on his own podcast: complimenting the waitress, "wow, you have incredible eyelashes," apparently counts as "being the best boy."

The alleged crime: complimenting a waitress. The sentence: a two-week internet trial where the victim's family is also the PR firm.

The denial aired on the same show that produced the evidence. Armchair Expert defends the armchair expert. That is the format. You cannot interview your own marriage and then be surprised when the interview becomes a document.

Co-host Monica Padman called the discourse "frustrating" and said the internet "wants a narrative" and will "find it wherever." True, and also a business description. The narrative is the product. The eyelashes were the raw material.

Shepard said the speculation is "deeply insulting" to Bell, who in his telling is "sitting in the house with her two daughters and modeling some abusive relationship." That is the most defensive move available when the claim is that the marriage is a performance: deny the performance exists, then keep filming it.

YOUR TURN: Is the man who compliments the waitress the abuser, or is he the only part of the marriage that is not a podcast segment?