The Armchair Expert podcast shared a photo of the cover of a recent edition of Star Magazine on Instagram, which featured large photos of himself, Ben Affleck and Keith Urban front and center. Smaller photos superimposed over them featured their respective wives: Bell, Jennifer Lopez and Nicole Kidman. The tagline for the cover story was blown up beneath the photo spread, reading, “Hollywood’s Most Henpecked Husbands,” with other text suggesting that Bell had “banned [Shepard] from hanging with friends,” that JLO “treated [Affleck] like an assistant,” and that Urban “must call home by 10 PM,” pinning the trio of women as overly controlling. Some believe the term “henpecked,” which Dictionary.com defines as “browbeaten, bullied, or intimidated by one’s wife, girlfriend, etc.,” trivializes legitimate emotional abuse, while others view it as a sexist term that overreacts to a female partner’s requests by defining them as “nagging.” Shepard cleverly went off over the cover in his caption, writing, “So excited and proud to share that I am apparently starring in a film called ‘Henpecked’ with Ben Afflec and Keith Urban. SO exciting. Have not read the script yet, but apparently it’s already been shot.” He went on, “It appears I play “No Friends Guy,” who is clearly second banana to Ben’s character ‘Assistant.’ Keith’s character ‘In By 10’ is potentially the hardest role in the film to play. He, like me, probably WANTS to be in by 10, but the fact that he’s been told he can’t stay out later makes him reflexively want to stay out until 11. This contradiction is fertile ground for a talented thespian. Can’t wait to see it!!!!” Shepard appears to have taken a screenshot of the photo of the cover from another Instagram account, which had added the text, “Get’em girlies ❤️,” over it. “I just dropped out. You must have gotten my role,” John Stamos commented. “You’ll have to grow your hair longer and I hope you’re cool with nudity. Break legs, pal.” “I can’t believe that my husband didn’t make the cut!” Molly Ringwald wrote. “@paniogianopoulos Clearly I need to step it up. 🐥” Terry Crews left a series of laughing emojis, while Justin Chatwin lamented, “That’s why you don’t hang out with me anymore…” Fans were quick to pile on, too. “But will you be allowed to attend the premier? There will be people there,” one asked. Another pointed out how frequently Shephard shares photos of himself hanging out with friends on the social media app. “If you need a stunt double for ‘No friends guy’ I can do it, I’d have to check with my wife if it will go past 10 and make sure all of her meetings are arranged,” another offered. “More importantly, WHERE can I buy the henpecked husbands calendar?” demanded someone else.
