Kristen Bell and several other well-known actors say they were shocked to discover their voices being used in a new religious podcast from Fox News Media — a project they claim they were never told would be released.

On Nov. 19, Fox News Media revealed that The Life of Jesus Podcast, a 52-episode dramatized retelling of New Testament stories, would debut on Nov. 30. The podcast is being released through a licensing agreement with Gulfstream Studios and is introduced by FOX & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt. According to the announcement, more than 100 actors lend their voices to bring biblical figures to life.

Among the names cited in the press release were Kristen Bell, Sean Astin, Brian Cox, and Malcolm McDowell. But representatives for the actors quickly said the performers had no idea their old recordings were being repurposed for the new series.

Actors Say They Never Approved Use of Their Voices

Bell’s spokesperson told Rolling Stone that the actress never agreed to the new podcast and was unaware of it entirely until a request came in asking her to promote it on FOX & Friends. Her recordings, the representative said, were created 15 years ago for an unrelated project, and she had not granted permission for them to be used in another production.

Brian Cox’s representative told Deadline a similar story, explaining that Cox’s audio came from the 2010 project The Truth & Life Dramatized Audio Bible: New Testament. Cox, they said, had no knowledge of The Life of Jesus Podcast until news of its release broke.

Representatives for Malcolm McDowell also confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that the 82-year-old actor’s audio was originally recorded for a different project 15 years earlier. They noted that McDowell did not know the material was being redistributed as a podcast: “This was long ago forgotten about.”

Fox News Media Responds

In a statement to PEOPLE, Fox News Media said that Gulfstream Studios produced The Life of Jesus Podcast using material from The Truth & Life Dramatized Audio Bible, explaining that the content was “licensed by FOX News Audio, with full cooperation and participation by all the actors involved.”

However, Rolling Stone reported that it had reviewed a note from a producer involved with the project suggesting at least one actor was encouraged not to mention that the recordings were originally created years ago, in order to give the podcast a more current feel.

The situation has raised questions about how long-ago audio recordings can be reused in new projects, what rights actors retain over past performances, and how licensing agreements should be communicated.