Kristen Bell criticizes 'Snow White' for how it portrays consent
Star says she encourages daughters to question stories they're reading
Star says she encourages daughters to question stories they're reading
Star says she encourages daughters to question stories they're reading
"The Good Place" star and Kristen Bell shared that she encourages her daughters to question the fairy tale stories they read together, saying that the consent issues raised in "Snow White" are particularly worrying.
Bell shares daughters Lincoln, 5, and Delta, 3, with husband Dax Shepard and said she takes the opportunity during story time to ask her daughters to challenge certain behaviors in stories they read.
"I glance away from the book and see their brains working while we're all cuddled up like meerkats," Bell told .
"Every time we close 'Snow White' I look at my girls and ask, 'Don't you think it's weird that Snow White didn't ask the old witch why she needed to eat the apple? Or where she got that apple?'
"I say, 'I would never take food from a stranger, would you?' And my kids are like, 'No!' And I'm like, 'OK, I'm doing something right.'"
Bell also added that she encourages her daughters to think about consent, recalling that she's asked them: "Don't you think that it's weird that the prince kisses Snow White without her permission. Because you cannot kiss someone if they're sleeping!"
After Bell received quite a bit of backlash for her comments, she took to Twitter to defend herself:
Some even called her a hypocrite for working with Disney in "Frozen," to which Bell pointed out the differences between the way female characters are portrayed now compared to older Disney films:
Bell's comments come after actress Keira Knightley's recent interview in which she revealed she doesn't allow her 3-year-old daughter to watch certain Disney films if she disagrees with the portrayal of women.
On "," Knightley explained that "Cinderella" is banned because she "waits around for a rich guy to rescue her," while she said, "I mean, the songs are great, but do not give your voice up for a man. Hello!" about "The Little Mermaid."