Actor Ben Affleck received major backlash after his interview on “The Howard Stern Show.” The Hollywood star appeared to blame his struggles with alcoholism on his ex-wife Jennifer Garner.
Ben Affleck talks to Howard Stern about how being "trapped” in marriage to Jennifer Garner led him to drinking:
“I was like, ‘I can't leave because of my kids, but I'm not happy, what do I do?' And what I did was [I] drank a bottle of scotch & fell asleep on the couch,” pic.twitter.com/P6ElVpRLyG
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) December 14, 2021
Howard Stern is known for his shock jock ways and it isn’t surprising to see guest blame their life woes on others. However, Garner has become a fan favorite dubbed “the cinnamon roll of the internet.” Having her blamed for her spouse’s bad behavior did not sit well with either of their fan bases.
What the Hollywood Star Said
Of course, we live in the world of the 45 second sound bite which can do a lot of damage as two-hour interviews are taken out of context. Misconceptions can arise even when the quotes are taken literally word for word.
Jennifer Garner unfazed by Ben Affleck’s comments about their marriage – HOLA! USA https://t.co/XqeeyHsRHX https://t.co/YRnyyTKDoT pic.twitter.com/r1u3vTvCGc
— USA Rehabs (@usarehabs) December 29, 2021
However, Ben’s dialogue with Stern shows clear signs of selfish self-preservation. Affleck came off as more of a man child pointing the finger at anyone but himself.
The actor said, “We probably would’ve ended up at each other’s throats. I probably still would’ve been drinking. … Part of why I started drinking was because I was trapped.”
Jennifer Lopez Denies Reports She's Mad at Ben Affleck for Comments About Jennifer Garner: 'Simply Not True' https://t.co/UMw4vJmZbN
— People (@people) December 19, 2021
“I was like, ‘I can’t leave because of my kids, but I’m not happy, what do I do?’ And what I did was [I] drank a bottle of scotch and fell asleep on the couch, which turned out not to be the solution,” the 49-year-old actor continued.
“Ultimately, we tried, we tried, we tried because we had kids, but both of us felt like we didn’t want this to be the model that our kids see of marriage.”
The Damage Control Begins
The Backlash against the actor came hard and swift causing Affleck to scrabble for damage control. Page Six covered his interview with friend Jimmy Kemmel where the actor tries to mitigate his disparaging comments against Garner.
Ben Affleck says his quotes about Jennifer Garner and his drinking were taken out of context and "wrong" #THRNews pic.twitter.com/P8lFav0NZt
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) December 17, 2021
Affleck called his interview with Stern as a “really cool, long-form, in-depth, two-hour interview.”
“We talked a lot about my family, divorce and alcoholism … and how you have to be accountable and loving,” He continued. “Then I start seeing all this stuff come up on Twitter. And I was like, what is this?”
The actor blamed “clickbait” for the social media fury, of which he was the recipient. “It said that I had blamed my ex-wife for my alcoholism, that I was trapped in this marriage — just made me out to be the worst, most insensitive, stupid, awful guy,” Affleck says.
Despite his staying power in Hollywood, Affleck still makes for a big target after so many years in the public eye — and his penchant for spilling his guts in interviews can get him trouble. https://t.co/f8RsbbBxQB
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) January 7, 2022
“That’s not true,” he continued. “I don’t believe that — it’s the exact opposite of who I am, what I believe, and I would never want my kids to ever say a bad word about their mom.”
Does his sincerity ring true? You decide.
