This Photo of Kristen Bell’s ‘White’ Dinner Party Starts Debate

Kristen Bell shared a seemingly wholesome photo of her star-studded dinner party – but it’s started a heated debate about diversity.

 

• On Friday, actress Kristen Bell posted a photo on Instagram of the celebrity guests at her dinner party in Idaho.

 

• The famous faces at her dinner party table included Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, John Mulaney, Jimmy Kimmel, and Jason Bateman among others.

 

• While some fans were blown away by the A-list guests, other social media users were disturbed by how Kristen’s friends were “overwhelmingly white” at her dinner and there was a serious lack of people of color at the party.

 

• A fan tweeted: “This picture is not impressive because Kristen has so many celebrity friends. It’s impressive that in 2023, she still has no Black friends at her table.” Others were surprised that Kristen had not invited any people of color to the party — when her hit show The Good Place also had such a diverse cast.

 


This is the same Kristen Bell that authored “The World Needs More Purple People” book.

It’s pretty on brand for the “i DoN’t sEe cOl0r” Hollywood brigade. After the book received backlash for teaching colorblindness cures racism, she backtracked and said it wasn’t about race. https://t.co/VzOJedtWpv pic.twitter.com/BbNTmUylZC

— Ola Ojewumi (@Olas_Truth) July 8, 2023


 
• The photo also particularly annoyed viewers because Kristen had published a children’s book called The World Needs More Purple People on race and the importance of diversity.

 

• The photograph ended up fueling a debate about commentary about diversity and unconscious bias in the film industry. Bell’s picture was seen as a clear example of why Hollywood is still not representative of modern society. In a viral TikTok video, content creator Bonnie Dilber argued that even though the rich and powerful outwardly support racial inclusion, privately they only socialize with other white people and this

 

• In a viral TikTok video, content creator Bonnie Dilber argued that even though the rich and powerful outwardly support racial inclusion, privately they only socialize with other white people like them.

 

@bonniedilber #greenscreen kristen bell's dinner party looks a lot like the people making decisions about who gets access to the best paying jobs – and its clear that a lot it people don't really have a seat at the table. #equity #kristenbell #dei #corporatelife #careertok ♬ original sound – Bonnie Dilber

 
But Some fans defended Kristen and said the debate over the photo was overblown.
In a video, that racked up 1.1 million views and over 138,000 likes, TikToker Zeena argued that social media users were policing the actress’ personal life.
She writes: “Are people actually upset that Kristen Bell had a dinner party with her friends or are people just joking? Since when do you need to have diversity requirements for a get-together with friends?”