As Kaiser covered yesterday, Ben Affleck appeared at Comic-Con over the weekend to tell a totally true story about how he first “ran into” Christian Bale while they just happened to be in the same costume shop, in the Batman section. We also saw the first trailer from Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. It looks dark and creepy, with the Batfleck typecast as a weary, aging superhero reluctantly returning to save the world from Superman gone rogue. It could be an entertaining action movie, but as Kaiser mentioned the tone is morose. Maybe they’ll lighten it up in post production.
Affleck was noticeably wearing his wedding ring during the panel. This seemed like a transparent move garnered to gain sympathy and bolster the “poor Ben” image his people have been pushing. Sure enough, Ben took that sucker off almost immediately afterwards, to the point where you could see the ghosted tan line on his finger. (Photos are here and here.) The gossip sleuths at The NY Daily News noticed and were quick to point it out:
The co-star of “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” took to the Comic-Con stage Saturday morning wearing a symbol of his fraying 10-year marriage to Jennifer Garner, but he exited sans ring, photos show.
Garner has been pictured wearing her wedding ring in Atlanta, Ga., as of Saturday, where she is filming “Miracles From Heaven.”
Affleck’s band mysteriously vanished as a sea of fans heard from a panel of the film’s all-star cast and director and saw its three-minute trailer.
[Affleck] apparently wore his ring all throughout the panel, divulging his thoughts on taking over the iconic black cape and cowl from Christian Bale, but at some point it goes missing like a bat into the night.
Fans crowded the stage as Affleck made his exit. He waved goodbye with his left hand from alongside Henry Cavill, the movie’s Superman, revealing a faint imprint of where a ring once was.
And the ring was nowhere to be found as he left the building and got into an SUV waiting for him. He kept his left hand in his pocket.
Is he really so dumb or so impulsive that he can’t manage to keep his ring on until he’s offsite? He knew he would be photographed. Was this a calculated move meant to convey his ambivalence about his divorce? Did Ben think no one would notice, or did he know they would and did he court the attention? Either wear the ring or don’t wear the ring, there is no “on and off.”
Meanwhile, Jennifer Garner has been seen with her wedding ring on in Atlanta (where she’s filming Miracles From Heaven), because of course. When Ben was out in Atlanta, for a daddy-daughter museum date with Violet, he made sure to wear his ring too.
Photos of Garner are from 7-11-15 credit: FameFlynet. Other photos credit Getty Images
Transparent move indeed. Gross.
Can this just be over yet? Does he really think people are so lame and stupid that they believe this bs? I mean who cares? For real?
To me a wedding ring means next to nothing. My husband lost his a few years ago on a camping trip.
If someone is going to cheat on you they are going to do it with or without a ring on. Do we really believe he took his ring off every time he took his pants off for a random?
Navy really suits him. Or is it black?
What a schmuck
Pretty much
Yerp. I feel so blech about this whole mess at this point. Give me a damn break. It’s like they think the entire world is watching with baited breath to see which one of them isn’t wearing their ring today. And I get that I’m playing into it by commenting, so I take responsibility for my part in perpetuating the mess. But it doesn’t change how self-absorbed they both appear when they play this stupid game.
Soooo much calculation. Eh, I get it. It’s high stakes for both of them, in terms of public perception, and thus their careers. But, personally, I get tired of the games that celebs play.
Lol, I’ll show myself out.
i’ll just say it… i totally want to bone Affleck.
I’m feeling that move at the moment too.
NO DON’T. everyone can do better than affleck.
Love yourself better, Sally. Love yourself better.
JK. You are entitled to your shame f*ck but I cant hang with you anymore.
I’m with you – though I’ve felt like this for a while haha. I don’t know what it is – I’ve always loved the Affleck.
I also finally watched Gone Girl this weekend, soooo….the Affleck love has just increased.
I wouldn’t want to DATE Affleck, but you know – casual relations and such.
I’ll sit in the Shame Corner with you, Erinn. I brought mimosas.
Ben Affleck isn’t shame corner material. For whatever his personal issues, he’s still a handsome movie star. You’d need to name someone like Jeremy Piven to be sent to the shame corner. Or Lukas Haas.
LOL @ Lukas Haas!
Yay! Mimosas and we don’t even need to sit in the shame corner 😀 Maybe we can set up camp in the ‘we could do worse as well as better foyer’.
PS Kitten – I totally found a British Shorthair breeder in Nova Scotia. Actually they’re only like a half hour away and everything. My aunt (who’s retiring from teaching next year and is totally healthy) had asked me to be her executrix on her will, and her power of attorney. Since I’m the oldest of her nieces and nephews and she doesn’t have kids, it’s my job now. And since I happily agreed (and promised not to googly-eye her Royal Daltons – a plan I had been toying with for years) she said she’s contributing to the Erinn needs a fancy cat fund, and then promptly apologized to my husband.
Ahhhh! I’m so excited for you, Erinn. That’s awesome 🙂 They are such sweet kitties.
They’re like little teddy bears.
Will you promise to set up an IG account for your kitten when you get him/her? I have one for my kitty and I love sharing silly and funny cat pics. Yes I’m lame.
(don’t tell Ben Affleck about my cat love or he won’t wanna do me)
I don’t know Kitten – he seemed pretty good with cats in Gone Girl. He might be a closet cat lover.
Oh, when I manage to get one, there will be a blast of photos everywhere. Hell, I’ll design/develop a site for the darn adorable thing if I have to haha.
They just stopped breeding Scottish Folds – but I’m equally in love with both of them. I’ve been drooling over them for the last week.
Shame corner? That was my place yesterday…
Whatever was on Netflix, I cried rewatching Good Will Hunting, “experienced” To The Wonder, and watched for the first time Changing Lanes after reading Roger Ebert’s 4-star review…
With bourbon – because what else you gonna drink during your very own private Ben Affleck film fest?
@Erinn-YES! I can’t wait to see pics. Foldies are the best. I will say this though: my little boy Fold is a troublemaker. This past weekend, I kept getting a waft of cat pee near the kitchen. I pulled everything out of cabinets, from behind the fridge, everything trying to see if the little dude had pee’d somewhere. NOTHING. Woke up at 3AM to get water from the fridge and caught severe pee odor from the bathroom off to the side of the kitchen. Turns out he was peeing in the tub, on the towel mat that had been draped over the side.
He’s gross. I love him, but he’s gross. My little girl Foldie is an angel who can do no wrong. My advice is def. to get a girl kitty.
@Laura in LA-Dammit! You should have invited me. I would have flown out to LA for that 😉
I will always have a soft spot for Ben. He’s not husband material, it appears, but he’s not some evil douchebag monster either. He has tons of great qualities. I loved him in Gone Girl also. I feel bad for Jen and think she’s such a natural beauty, even if she has horrible fashion sense at times that is dowdy, and she loved her guy. They were married ten years, and I’m sure there were many wonderful times.
Ben is flying high with his career. It’s going to be hard for Jen to see him down the road out with his new squeeze, whomever that turns out to to be. And she’s got three kids and back to dating in her 40s. Ughhhh. I feel for her. But better now than 53 when the kids are graduating high school. Ben should never have married at 32. Far too young for his type in Hollywood.
I don’t care what anyone says I still wanna hit it.
I love me some Affleck. I’m just not sold on him as Batmsn.
Bad boy appeal? You know how guys say “dont stick your ….. in Crazy”? Ben is our version of that. Dont let Crazy stick it in you.
I get it. I would too and I’ve been married 37 years.
It’s lust, not “oh, I want to date, fall in love, marry and have his babies.”
He is hot. Just yesterday I watched the infamous drunken/groping interview he did in 2004 for the first time. He was tanked and totally inappropriate, but damned if he wasn’t also funny, cute, charming and sexy. Dude has game… period.
I would hit that so hard one of us would need medical attention.
NO SHAME!!
I kind of hate that I feel that way too… I swear it’s because in ‘The Town’ he looks just like my SO. That was all I could focus that whole movie. In other roles not so much, but now that’s all I think about when I see him.
I agree with the “lust” ladies!!!!! F, Marry, Kill….F Ben Affleck, Marry Brad Pitt, and kill….no one, I’d just F Ben, again!!!
He’s not fooling anyone, and neither is she. They are getting divorced, so they don’t need to be wearing their rings.
This!!!
exactly, I don’ really get the point of keeping their rings on.
Maybe their publicists do. The one who takes it off 1st will be seen as the one who ended it for real I guess, it’ a sign you’re moving on and he doesn;t want to give off that vibe, he’s public opinion has suffered enough
Oh dear. *his , and by opinion I meant image. Haven’t slept that well today…
It takes alot of people time to let go emotionally. My mum kept her ring on until she met her new husband even though she was the one who filed for divorce. My colleague had her ring on up until she got the official decree. Jen probably falls here. Any fool can see she was head over heels with this douche. Plus she isnt playing the on/off ring game.
Ben on the other hand is playing the PR angle. We know he wasnt wearing his ring, during his private time, as far back as April thanks to that store surveillance tape. We know that he wanted us to know that he was wearing it in those staged photos of their vacation recently (convenient eye rubbing with left hand). We know he took it off as soon as he could because when he lands in the US, he wasnt wearing it. We know he wants us to see it during the staged pap walk with his kids in Atlanta. And we know he want us to see it during comicon but chucks it as soon as he thinks the focus on him is gone.
I bet he is playing close attention to Jens ring finger. I cant wait to see the stripper bender he will go on, once he has the official green light.
Agreed. I think for most people, divorce is a slow laborious process to find your new normal.
I notice that when I tell people my ex and I have divorced, they say “Oh, I’m so sorry.” But then they’re not sure what their emotion should be since they don’t know exactly what went down and where I’m at now. For me, I mourned my lack of satisfying marriage for years before deciding something needed to change in a big way, and then dwelled a long time on how it all was going to impact my son (whether I stayed or split). Once I made the final decision, it was a relief, and I could focus on the logistics of getting the hell out. So, by the time I’m telling people about it, I feel positive if not euphoric vs. them feeling like “This is bad news.”
In short, what I intended to say initially is that Ben & Jen’s ring thing may or may not be thought-out. They may have loving feelings for each other and the marriage symbol/ring may not be something they’re ready to let go of yet. Give them some slack.
This putting the rings on and off is a bit odd, but I have noticed some celebs wearing a coloured band on their ring finger after separating. Does anyone know if that is some sort of separated but not divorced yet statement, or something to do with the children e.g. I split from your mother/father, not you.
Agreed. I don’t really know what to make of the fact that he had his ring on. They officially announced their divorce. Everyone knows. They know that everyone knows.
I think any sympathy that Ben would get at the panel he would get ring or not. People know his marriage is over whether he wears the ring or not. I wondered if maybe he wore it to discourage people from asking questions about his divorce when he was trying to promote Batman?
She seems so much more at ease, honestly. Since the divorce has been announced it’s like the roles reversed and now he’s tense and paranoid and she’s just, whatever.
I agree. She seemed so tense and on guard before. Seemed to me that she was really trying to hold up the happy family image. She seems much more relaxed now.
That smile in that pic is probably the most genuine smile I’ve seen on her in a long time.
Right! She looks so relieved. It’s so strange to see her so normal just out and about.
Really??
I understand leaving them on for the kids, but give me a break. We know full well they are getting a divorce.
Well, when I told my ex-husband I was divorcing him, he took off his ring and threw it as hard as he could behind our house. I guess at least Ben’s more mature than that, but it really should stay on or off and eventually people will stop watching.
At least he didn’t throw it at you?
Like I said yesterday, I think for Jen wearing it may be a habit. But for Ben there is some ploy, since he takes it off when he thinks no one is looking. Or maybe he is just screwing with people’s heads.
Nah, probably saw an available female in the crowd after the Q and A and didn’t want to confuse her. Ha!
Why are they wearing their rings? They didn’t announce a trial separation, they’re done, they’re getting divorced, marriage over. They’ve been photographed with their rings off. I’ve never known anyone in the process of getting divorced who’s taken their ring on and off. Either they keep wearing it for a time or they take it off and never wear it again. They aren’t wearing it Monday, taking it off Tuesday and putting it back on Thursday afternoon.
Flip flopping on the rings is just inviting speculation, the only reason to do it is for the extra attention. It’s like they’re trying to get as much mileage out of this as they can.
I hope to God that Jen is actually over him and is trolling his stupid paranoid brain with the ring. I hope she keeps her ring on for a year so that Ben Affleck can spend the next 12 months slipping it on and off for my entertainment.
Well technically they’re still married. Maybe when the divorce is official they will permanently remove their rings .
As someone whose parents took forever to work out their divorce, I think it’s better when the adults act clearly and decisively about living arrangements and custody. Jewelry? Who cares.
Yup !!!I said the same thing yesterday when my parents were divorcing the absolute last thing I cared about was whether they were wearing their wedding rings.
They arent wearing the rings for the kids. I think she is still working her way to closure and I think he is determined to beat her in the great Olympic Sport of RingOnNotOff. I also secretly hope she toys with him for a long, long time, you just know he is getting minute-by-minute updates on the state of her ring finger.
Nope they aren’t wearing their rings for the kids they are for PR purposes BOTH of them.
But Ben isnt living in his ring. His PR game is a lot clearer if you ask me. Her, I dont know. I dont think it is just PR, tbh.
I just watched her appearance on the Today show that was shot in March. She starts to look uncomfortable and teary when she is asked about whether she has life regrets and how she deals with them. The camera is actually zoomed in quite close to her face and you can see how agitated she is. And then just as the subject turns to her mum and sisters, the dam bursts. I thought at the time it had to do with Ben and I am even more convinced now. I think whatever you think of Jennifer Garner it is undeniable that she was madly in love with Ben Affleck. I can buy that she is taking her time with moving on.
I’m not buying what Jen G is selling. You can feel free to consume my portion of prepackaged minivan goodness for me. She is all about PR that doesn’t mean she doesn’t love her kids or Ben. What that means is she is very aware of her public image, and very calculating. She sobbed when testifying about how awful the paparazzi is for her kids for instance but time and time again she brought her kids on pap walks when it benefitted her replete with smiles for Ben’s OSCAR campaign. She’s playing the divorce just as I’d expect and honestly she’s just getting warmed up because at this point she isn’t promoting anything.
Luca76 – thanks for that reminder. Good observations I needed.
He’s looking well scrubbed up. Gorgeous looking man. I really want to like him but nonsense like that turns me off him. It makes him seem so fake. Why wear the ring for the cameras? We know he’s only wearing it for the cameras because he’s in such a rush to take it off he can’t even wait til they stop rolling. It’s all so pointless and only draws more negative attention.
He needs to stop pandering to what he thinks people want to see (while getting caught as being fraudulent) and start being himself. If he owned his own behaviour and wants, made no pretence or fake apologies then there would be no big deal for the tabloids to make.
He needs to be authentic so he can come across as sincere, then he’ll be liked (which we know is what he wants). Until then he just comes across as an insincere douche.
Look how fast he ditched it when he returned sans garner and kids from the Bahamas. That said it all. Likely that was a Ben move while wearing it is a PR move. The fact he took it off again speaks volumes. Like he wanted to show the world on the panel he was wearing it but knew there’d be photos of him without it for Jennifer to see. Or maybe his side piece turned up and he had to ditch it quick.
^This +10000
I have to admit it: the way Gwyneth and Chris Martin consciously un-coupled was far way better than this mess.
They are both doing this staged wedding-ring pr thing.
I am sorry for the kids.
I think it’s ridiculous of both of them – Jen AND Ben – to continue wearing the rings. I have no specific hatred toward him. i can easily assign as much calculated PR to Jen as I am to him. She’s keing hers on non-stop, which isn’t surpising, given the role she’s always played – dutiful wife, and she’s cininuing that now. He seems more uncomfortable with leaving it on all the time, which is understandable. I don’t buy that it’s for the kids though. In any case, they should just take the rings off but continue to co-parent. That’s really all that matters. Leaving the rings on just seems more confusing for the kids. Thy need to start to understand that their parents will always be there and love hem, it’s just that their own (Ben/Jen) relationship is changing. Does anyone remember when Goop and CM stopped wearing their rings – again though, Inalso get that they seemed further along when they announced.
This is why I don’t like this man. He is a big fraud.
Sorry for all the typos in my post!! Combo of iPhone fast typing and auto-correct. :/
Meh. He was probably trying to avoid any questions about the state of his marriage. I don’t think it was anything more calculating than that. Plus kids notice things, and he knew there would lots of photographs taken of him that night. Perhaps they are actually thinking of their children and the impact all of these stories will have on them in the years to come. Kelly Rutherford should take a page from their book IMO.
His oldest is what 9 or 10 she is not a teen on the internet Googling her dad at Comic Con, Ben is playing games.
Funny how Goop and Chris Martin didn’t do any of this crap Ben and Jen are doing and their kids will be do just fine. When they get old enough to Google their parents and want have to reading all the passive aggressive comments mommy and daddy PR agents are selling to the media or why daddy playing the ring game.
Wonder what the story is with the new nanny. They have had the same girl for many, many years and now, all of a sudden she’s gone. Ben???
They probably have more than one nanny
Hmmm – “I am sorry Jen for my lack of commitment to our marriage but every time there was a battle between keeping my marriage vows and unzipping my pants, the latter won”.
10. Come on Jen, it’s not like you will not have any more birthdays, so what If I spent the day with my mistress.
9. If it turns out that my new babe is only a few years older than my girls it’s a win – win for me because it means less Daddy time for two girls and more Daddy time for my special girl #Daddy wins#
8. Why is it cool for Chris Martin and Johnny Depp to trade in and all hell breaks loose when it’s batman’s turn, not fair.
7. Don’t blame me for this melt down, blame my man crush Brad Pitt, he just confessed that he will never leave Angelina Jolie for me.
6. Hold on Leo and Bradley, I have a lot of ground to make to be able to catch up with you in terms of sampling of lingerie models. You will admit that you both had an unfair advantage for the past TEN YEARS.
5. Yes, she was a controlling bitch, why was my presence at home every few months not enough?
4. Don’t blame me, any honest man will tell you that fresh meat is always better than a vagina that has pushed out three babies, even if they are mine.
3. This PR business is full of shit, I finally get my dearest wish and I still have to pretend to be unhappy, so not cool.
2. What do these people want from me? Whether I am wearing the ring or not the marriage is already dead. Just look at those latest Instragam photos of Emily (on vacation in Italy) and tell me you don’t understand why.
1.Hey Scott (Peterson/Disick) you guys are my ultimate role models in life, wannna hang out?
Speaking of number 2 — Has Emily always shared so many selfies? I’ve noticed several articles featuring her vacation photos.
Then again, I did not know her by name until the divorce posts mentioned her. And that he supposedly hand-picked her for Gone Girl. LOL
God, these two! We all know it’s ooooover. I guess that they made a deal that the rings stay on for photo ops. What’s killing me is that astro turf hairpiece from the Travolta Collection at Wig Lots.
Classy is as classy does, jackass.
My first thought was: Ben’s ‘handlers’ told him to wear the ring for press-related events like Comic Con etc, for PR/sympathy purposes. So, as soon as he fulfilled his commitment at the event, he took it off.
This didnt come from “handlers”. He is not an 18 year old Disney starlet, his public relations team works for him not the other way around. If his media trained employees ADVISED him to be photographed with the ring on then they would also have reminded him that he is ALWAYS under the microscope and that he should just keep it on all the time.
He has been manipulating public perception since the late 90s, he knows he is perceived as a drunk, gambling, cheater who ruined his marriage. He wants to be seen as a sensitive man who fought for his marriage against the odds. It doesnt take a genius to figure out that the ring can be an important part of image crafting.
This is not an attack on you but I have noticed that when female stars pull PR moves it is ascribed to them personally. When male stars do it, it is ascribed to “handlers” and “teams”. The message being women = actively sly, crafty manipulators, while men = passive participants in a perfectly acceptable public relations game
Mine, too – but I think it’s more Ben’s lawyers telling him what to do.
Haha, the speculation about Ben Affleck reminds me of the speculation about his character in Gone Girl. Better get a fast talking lawyer to polish up that image, Ben.
I can’t watch it now without applying his current situation to the character. Especially the part during the police interview when he says something along the lines of ‘I am not a good guy…’
If I was at comic con and saw him take the ring off I don’t think I would’ve been able to stop myself saying “now the rug.”
Just choked on my oatmeal lol.:)
Ugh. It’s puzzling why people think Ben’s PR rollout of the divorce is a success, since the machinations are completely transparent. Maybe Ben just seems not to play along with it, so he LOOKS like the guy who is fundamentally too honest and pure to do that kind of stuff. LOL. Fail.
I think within their home right now it’s a cold war. This whole divorce thing only went down sometime after they went all lovey dovey to the Senate hearing. There is no way they are all amicable behind the scenes as they are uncoupling, lol, this marriage.
Emotions are running strong. With the leaking back and forth all the why the marriage fell apart to People, etc., they have to be barely on speaking terms as a new articles were coming out several times a day from their camps. I think he’s being told to wear the ring by Jennifer and by his publicists and he’s over it. They are divorcing, period. It’s symbolic that he couldn’t even stand the ring on for a second longer than necessary. I imagine they told him more would be focused on no ring than on his movie, so put it on. But after that, he wanted it off b/c he’s tired of this public facade he’s having to do and because he and Jennifer behind the scenes are not on good terms right now. I think he feels controlled right now. Ben never hides his emotions. Jen will still have that smile on, though. He just looks douchier to wear it and then rip it off before he leaves the building. It’s so phoney. Just take the rings off and move on if you can’t stomach it on for one second longer than necessary.
His ‘conscious unringing’ speaks volumes. If he is making a point of pulling off the ring at the earliest opportunity, he’s done.
Even if he is wearing it for PR, why be so quick to remove it? I’d wait until I got to my hotel or wherever. It’s a fed-up signal, IMO as well.
Exactly.
I think his perceived need to be *over it* is more about Ben going on to sever that potential Batman franchise money$$$$$ from their common assets…..
Yep, THIS exactly, Jayna.
Blech. I said this on Sunday’s post, but I have had it with both of them, mostly him. I always felt neutral about these two, but for some reason when I saw the photos of their mansion, a switch in my brain flipped and I can’t care for either of them. Garner will be fine. She and her children will be cared for for life, and never want for anything. Ben will make,many many more millions and date an endless string of beautiful twenty year olds. He will not self destruct, and I don’t think he’s doing heroin. Affleck, more the anything, is a man very concerned with what is best for Ben Affleck. Heroin is too self destructive and IMO he would never go there.
As far as the off/on ring goes, he’s just being duplicitous and smarmy IMO. He thinks that the public will see him as being a torn man full of angst and turmoil about his failing/failed marriage. Because he thinks we are stupid and wants us to buy movie tickets and batman crap for our kids. I know this is really cynical, but I really believe this pr stuff is nothing but games at this point.
Well I have to take a step back..
I was giving him and Jennifer the benefit of the doubt about wearing the ring.. and when I first saw the post I was like..did people see him without the ring or is this just people dropping on him. Now I see the pics and yes this now to me seems contrived.. One of my local radio stations was even talking about this and they and the callers were like take the ring off and the kids maybe upset for a while but keeping them on for a slow movement is on’y going prolong things.
These two are in the same boat for me.. both engaging
and it is so funny to me how women are now more attracted to him. Says a lot doesn’t it..Ben is not going to have any problems with women and appealing to them; and I don’t mean 20 somethings.
I honestly don’t see why people care about this so much. Just let them do what they need to do. I know people who take their rings off right away or some wait until the divorce is final. Or even if he is being a jerk, who cares? They have a family, people should find something else to talk about.
I don’t really see what the scam or ploy could be – everyone knows they’re getting divorced. It can take some people a while to remove their rings. Maybe being out and about and around so many people and their questions are what pushed him to finally remove his. Everything isn’t a conspiracy.
Exspext as others have pointed out he’s been photographed with out his ring more then twice since the announcement. So he had no problem taking off his ring he just playing media games.
Ah, ok. Didn’t see that.
Also during the Save the Children Gala Night in November 2014 and the Hollywood Free Press Awards night. No ring.
I can’t believe that when it is obvious Ben Affleck does a clearly staged PR move of wearing his ring while at Comic Con, where he knew there would be tons of pictures/cameras, and then once he exits the stage he removes his ring ….. some people have to bring Jen up too. She is not the one wearing and removing her ring. She has kept on wearing hers. She might be keeping it on till she officially files for divorce. Ben, on the other hand, clearly never cared about the ring anyway since he constantly cheated on her and was caught not wearing his ring while with his mistress.
This article is about what a fake person Ben Affleck is. jennifer is not perfect but to turn around and group her with this immoral, idiot, sorry-excuse-for-a-husband-and-father/man is totally disgusting in my opinion. She has shown she is a far superior human being than Affleck.
Sorry but I happen to think Jen getting photographed ‘running errands’ while Ben is at Comic Con is quite a coincidence. Did you read that Rob Shuster article last week? It’s clearly a photo op.
She’s just smarter than Ben when it comes to this type of thing.
I agree with this because they both have filmed in Atlanta many times before and never get photographed by the paparazzi unless their on set, so what’s the difference now? I think Their only being photographed now is because they want to be seen just like we knew Ben was going to Atlanta to “take care” of the kids.
You know, they really are a well suited couple.
Oh, these two. Such utter phony, manipulative jerks – the both of them – with such rich (famous) people problems!
It is just so apparent how this couple has played most of the public over the past decade. Certainly, Ben is a lying, cheating, a$$ of an addict. He was subtly coerced into marrying a woman who would be a great wife and mother figure to clean up his public reputation, but not change who is is, fundamentally – a charming narcissistic pig. But Jennifer is just as much at fault. People in Hollywood have said that she was calculating, focused, driven, and highly ambitious. She was clearly infatuated with Affleck from the get go (embarrassingly so), but she got a LOT from him. Her fame from Alias would have been fleeting/short-lived without riding on his coattails.
It has to be clear by now, that she used this happy family image to her advantage. Like most of us realized, their marriage was problematic from the get go, but she promoted the idea of their perfect, normal, average American family to no end. It was all a lie for his and her profit. And from the recent interview with a former celebrity publicist, we know that the pap strolls and candid photos are as calculated as they come.
I’ve seen that people who work in Hollywood have, ironically, perhaps the most distorted idea about fairy-tale romances and believe more in these nonsense fictional depictions of ideal relationships than an “regular” person does. Maybe Jennifer was really that naive. In any case, I think now we should know not to trust a word of these two say or do. They are both duplicitous. Their ring thing is obviously a PR move, for some reason.
If this couple really wanted privacy, they could have had it. Instead they promote a fraudulent public image to engender love and sympathy and make multi-millions from the unsuspecting masses…
So sorry for the kids.
I found this article today and it is very detailed. What do you guys think?
http://www.bostonherald.com/inside_track/celebrity_news/2015/07/report_jennifer_garner_showed_ben_affleck_the_door_after_years/
It’s a nicely cobbled together and written article of all the articles that have been out there for a while.
It’s a reprint of the Us Weekly cover story – the Herald have the rights to their stuff.
@lisa Re: your post above, I can’t find a single picture from the Children’s Gala where you can see Ben’s left hand. The only one I can see where his left hand is visible is in his pocket. But I don’t doubt it – their body language on that carpet was beyond awkward, even for them. She was looking at him in some of the photos, but he never looked at her. Ok, that’s always been par for the course with them, but Jen kept her hands in front of her the whole time, fidgeting with her fingers, as they stood next to each other. They just seemed noticeably distant. And that was quite a few months ago…
People, the kids are way ahead of where we might think they are. They’ve had ring side seats at this show for ages and besides to them frequent absences by Ben are just normal.
This is all about career positioning for themselves, and their next projects. The crying has been done. On, the other hand is the most interesting either of them have been in….well…ever.
I’m beginning to think the reason why the Afflecks’ divorce is so carefully orchestrated is because the STUDIO is orchestrating it.
“Thou shalt come to Comic Con. Thou shalt wear thine wedding band like a good boy.”
Now this I (partly) believe he’s a company man for the next few years.
Exactly. They can’t have a womanizing, gambling absentee father/husband get in the way of the Batman franchise sales.
I agree with what Lainey hints at in her article today about the “ring on / ring off” situation and the fact that it’s going to start creating a potential reconciliation narrative in the media. I truly believe that Jen Garner is at work here. There was an article a few weeks ago (don’t remember the source) when the divorce news broke that mentioned that Jen “needed to do something to shake him up”. This struck me as odd, and I wouldn’t doubt for a second if she is holding it over his head with “shape up or this is it for good” threats. To this point, it has also been widely reported that Jen did not want to go public with the divorce announcement, but Ben wanted to be done with it. This is why I don’t buy any of this “Jen threw his a$@@#$” out crap.” She might have thrown in the towel because she felt she no longer had a choice, but I think she’d be back in a heartbeat if he begged her. All of that said, it looks like they were already separated for a while before the announcement, so I don’t know why they would put their family and their children through this media firestorm of a divorce announcement if only one week later they’re already backtracking on it … To me, Ben taking off his ring at the end of the panel seemed like a purposeful, giant “FU” to Jen or someone else who probably told him or advised him to leave his ring on.
That crossed my mind last week with alol the PR back in forth they’ve been doing. As much as I dislike both Jen and Ben I hope they didn’t put their kids through this for a stunt.
Everything after the announcement just seems so calculated and not in away that is to protect their kids. It feels like something else is going on here I’m just not sure what.
Forgot to add … think about it. This could turn into the greatest PR “love comeback” story ever told – “they came back from the brink of divorce”. It would be really sad to think that this would be that calculated though, especially given their kids. And the only problem is, I have no doubt they’ll end up back at divorce in the end – it has always just seemed like a question of when.
Wow, people are unnecessarily angry about this. He’s a savvy guy – if he were wearing his ring to show he’s still a family man for the cameras, he wouldn’t have taken it off while cameras are still around.
Really then why wear the ring in the first place? If you look at the pictures of him without his ring they aren’t as clear as the ones of him on stage which suggests that the photographer was hidden and Ben was not aware that he was being photographed when he took it off.
He took the ring off in Hall H, where there was a wall of cameras and fans, not to mention the paparazzi waiting outside. (He was photographed waving to the fans as he climbed into his SUV). He’s been famous for 20 years. He knew there were still cameras around. But sure, it was all part of his evil plan to … I’m not sure what exactly.
+1
Actually, “unnecessarily angry” sums up every Affleck thread rather nicely I think.
Dear Jen, do not listen to the naysayers. There is nothing wrong with your looks. You clean up nicely when occasion demands just like some of us. Please remember this, every time you are tempted to try botox and all that other stuff just google Meg Ryan”s latest pictures and you will stop in your tracks, lol. Also, your ring is yours to do as you please. If you want to keep it on for ever, its your decision. Once Ben steps out with another woman though, I expect the ring to disappear for good.
BTW, Ben himself confessed to the fact that he started developing feelings for Jen on the set of Dare Devil when he was still with J.lo, yet people choose to believe that it is all one sided perhaps the reason for this is because he is considered to be too good looking to ever fall for a woman that “looks like Jen”, smh. He certainly was not a big movie star as at the time they started dating and got married, he did not even know that he would be good at directing. His progression happened with her support and nurturing but that means nothing to some people because she will never be good enough for him, no matter how badly he behaves, she is still beneath him.
What are you talking about? First off as far as I know no one said anything about her looks in this post. Secondly he got his first Oscar im 1998 and he was already a big movie star before he met her so lets not act like he was a nobody and she made him.
People not buying what Jen selling has nothing to do with Ben.
What Nusi was saying was his career tanked during/after JLO. Yup, he won his Oscar in 1998. So? He was at the lowest in the early 2000. So Nusi’s observation is not off the tangent.
As far as her looks, maybe not at this post today, but it is a regular occurrence for some people to say something about her being dowdy. Which is true.
He recovered his marketable image when he married JG because people believed he turned his career around by being a family man.
I think I agree with @christin above in that Affleck was basically conveying he’s “fed up” by pullng the ring off at the end of the panel. Say whatever you will about him, but everyone typically describes him as highly intelligent, so keeping the ring on and then blatantly removing at the end when he clearly knew he was still being photographed makes me think he’s purposely giving someone – not sure who – a giant middle finger, as in, “I’ll play your game, but it’s not all on your terms.” I don’t know – maybe this whole thing has turned me into a conspiracy theorist. ;/ Also, does anyone else not find it strange that is virtually no coverage / pickup today of The NY Daily News piece re: pulling the ring off, yet hundreds of random outlets and blogs have been all over them daily if they even step outside with their rings on. Again, maybe I’m reading too much into it, but the media seems strangely silent today, and I would think it should be the opposite when Ben pulled a somewhat interesting move like that.
I think you’re right! I think that Affleck is dealing with huge pressure from the studio because on his shoulders there’s an enormous franchise depending on him and maybe this PR game is being “suggested” by the studio team in order to make him look the best way possible after his mess
“laura in LA says:
July 13, 2015 at 1:37 pm
Shame corner? That was my place yesterday…
Whatever was on Netflix, I cried rewatching Good Will Hunting, “experienced” To The Wonder, and watched for the first time Changing Lanes after reading Roger Ebert’s 4-star review…
With bourbon – because what else you gonna drink during your very own private Ben Affleck film fest?”
@Laura, I had never seen “Good Will Hunting” since the first time I watched it and just saw it again a few months back. I cried too. I had forgotten what a great movie it was. Robin Williams made me cry. Ben said he based the character on his father, a brilliant man who never achieved the greatness he should have and an alcoholic. Of course, the rest of the character had nothing to do with his father, Robin’s character losing the love of his life. That scene where Robin threw Matt up against the wall was so intense, a brilliant scene. They talked about doing it in the group interview commemorating its 15th Anniversary a few years ago. The story of how long it took Ben and Matt to get this made I had no idea it was that long. It’s a fascinating read and Robin was still alive during this article. Even Gus Van Sant, the director, participated in the interview.
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/2013/01/good-will-hunting-oral-history/
I can’t remember too much about “Changing Lanes,” except I remember really enjoying it at the time with Samuel Jackson. Roger Ebert loved it and gave it four stars. I also really enjoyed “Sliding Doors” with Ben and Gwyneth back when. I even enjoyed “Bounce” with Gwyneth and Ben from what little I remember, although it got low reviews. I had forgotten they were in three movies together. They clicked on screen.
Is To The Wonder any good? I hated hated hated Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life and never even finished it. So I wasn’t sure whether to invest time in To The Wonder.
@Jayna Just chiming in on To the Wonder. I watched it and thought it was decent. But that said, I’m a total movie junkie and will watch almost anything. It’s definitely not for everyone since there’s probably only one to two pages of dialogue in the entire film. If you can take it, then you might also want to watch “Jerry”, a Gus Van Zandt film with Matt Damon and Casey Affleck – even less dialogue than To the Wonder. They just wander through the desert together without saying anything for practically the entire movie.
I think the ring thing is to say guys look I am being forced here by my wife to wear a ring though we are getting divorced you see what married life is like to this woman I am not free to have my own opinions.
I am the crappy dude she is the angel so ahe controls me all she wants afterall I will always look like the bad one
Thank you Lisa. You were spot on with your analysis of what I was trying to say. Some of these comments I really find to be quite amazing. Do people really believe that Jen is the one forcing Ben Affleck to continue to wear his wedding ring after finally announcing their divorce. This is highly unlikely imo because he hardly did what she wanted when they were married, chances of him doing so now are far less it would seem. Unless of course you are one of those that believe that she has all these sordid information on him that she is threatening him with (rolls eyes). The more likely truth is that the Studio is orchestrating the whole thing as they have a lot at stake with the movies and other projects lined up for him. At this point it is in their best interest for him to appear more humane than the opposite which unfortunately is his true nature, coupled with his tendency to self destruct as evidenced by the speedy removal of the ring (right after the press conference) when he could have waited a bit longer to do so.
So why is she wearing hers she has no film coming out btw never said she is manipulating him infact what I said is he is trying to show that her image is not as squeaky clean as she projectsThis is a man for whatever reasons best known to him does not want to be married to this woman anymore yet despite the cheating the gambling the drinking she is hanging on to the man so who is playing games here She was married did she fight for that marriage no now she is fighting for a womaniser know tell me who is the shallow person in tbis marriage.Scumbag or whatever you think he is she got what she put out.Now before u reply make sure u have solid arguments.Or u r wasting smart peoples time
The ring is off now, according to People and E!. Apparently, he wasn’t wearing it yesterday in LA either.