These are photos of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner taking their kids out for ice cream yesterday. It looks like he’s breaking bad news to her, but that could be a show for the cameras. Surely she’d heard all the news by then and this also must be a planned outing because multiple photos agencies had these photos. For all of the people blaming Garner for her husband being an abusive jackass who grabs women – stop it. Really, just stop. A man is responsible for his own actions. Yes women can get into codependent relationships with those type of men, but those type of men are also extremely skilled at being charismatic and saying just the right thing when needed to hook the person. They’re skilled at also making women feel like they have no other options, not that that’s the case with Garner, just that you can’t blame an abuser’s partner.
Garner worked extremely hard to preserve Affleck’s public image and his relationship with his children in the wake of their drawn out separation. She gave it her all, for good or bad, and in their statements to the press both of them have emphasized how their kids come first. So how does Garner feel now that there are two incidents getting press of Affleck grabbing women on camera and at least one more incident where he (allegedly, but come on) grabbed a well known makeup artist at a party? She’s pissed off, understandably. E! has the exclusive, and they’ve had plenty of insider quotes from her in the past so I believe them.
Garner “is very annoyed because it just means more attention on her and the kids as a result of Ben’s actions,” a source told E! News exclusively on Thursday. “She tries to shield them from any and all publicity and scrutiny. She’s taking her kids to school and to all of their activities. As far as they know nothing has changed and all is well. That is always her goal but she’s been pretty frustrated with him.”
That’s it, it’s about the kids and she wants to wash her hands of Affleck but she can’t because he keeps f-king up. She worked on that dude for over a decade and look where he is now. He’s a mess, he’s a cliche and now we know he sexually attacks women. Yes a grab isn’t the same as rape or coercion but it’s still an attack and it still victimizes women. I’m sick to my stomach writing this and reading these stories and I’m so grateful to Kaiser for doing the heavy lifting these past couple of weeks especially, she’s amazing. I feel emotionally drained just reading about Weinstein’s actions, I don’t want to think about it too hard.
Now we’re learning about the other powerful men in Hollywood who are complete pieces of sh-t and Affleck is sitting on top of the heap but there will be others soon enough. So what’s next for him, a mea culpa, rehab and/or intensive study of women’s issues? His crisis team must be working overtime but they weren’t there when he was writing that sh-tty sorry tweet to Hilarie Burton. (Incidentally EW reported that the clip of Ben grabbing Hilarie on TRL was from 2001, making her 18 or 19. The Daily Mail and other outlets claim it was from 2003. Ben’s actions are inexcusable regardless.) Remember that Justice League is coming out on November 17. I bet WB benches Ben and doesn’t let him do any press. It could possibly turn into an “I f’ed up” tour but I doubt he’s ready for that.
Incidentally, Affleck and Matt Damon just announced a new project together (great timing) under their Pearl Street Films production company. They’re teaming with Paramount to produce a thriller based on the true story of the first undercover detectives in Boston in the 1840s, it’s called The Shadows. The script is being written by Chris Bremner, who doesn’t have much on his IMDB to date.
Garner posted this to Instagram promoting the organic baby food delivery service she’s partnering with. She posted this two days ago, well after the Weinstein news broke but she hasn’t said a peep.
photos credit: WENN and Backgrid
To me it looks like perhaps a pap said something just before these photos were taken (a common tactic to get a ‘good’ shot). Compare it to ones with Ben’s mom. This was not on her terms and she is probably realizing her kids have heard something from a pap which will require a talk. I feel badly for her and the kids especially. Him, no sympathy. He’s had so many chances to get it right (as rich white men do!) and doesn’t.
I agree with you, I don’t think she knew. Even for Jen, allegations about groping are too far, especially for her kids. She looks pissed and he is trying to couch the news in the best possible terms. I doubt we will be seeing any pap strolls with her and the kids for a while.
I think she already knew before the photos but is struggling to do this.
Its time for a lot of these celebrity women to take a page out of Denise Richards book of how to deal with a disgusting ex. She still spends time with Charlie to facilitate a relationship for her daughters. But you can tell she no longer takes his shit. Or covers up anything for him. And when he crosses the line, she cuts him off.
I agree that something unexpected happened. Jen’s expression on the stool, and then the look on Ben’s face as they’re hugging goodbye. He looks very intense.
I think so too.
The easiest way for us to stop giving them power is by not going to their movies.
I wonder how many of the people commenting here will still go to Justice League because “I love DC”, “I go for Wonder Woman”, or any such excuse.
If it’s the latter, note that Wonder Woman is the only female main character amongst a bunch of men. Same reason why I’m done with Marvel.
I think she’s struggling with all of this. I also think that he’s a massive opportunist and with the photos of him kissing his daughter’s head it’s his damage control photo opp. I’m so over men using their stance as a father of daughters to prove their “feminism.” Like, you can’t just be totally disgusted with shitty behavior as a human?! You’ve gotta be related to a woman only to “get it”?! I have a hunch these three women are one of a few he’s harassed. He’s a sick disappointment.
I like her. I feel bad for her. It really sucks she has to deal with fallout bc she seems like a really good person. Ben though he may be a jerk and creep, but he is not on Weinstein level of predator, and there are levels, he is taking a lot of heat by association because of Weinstein and his brother that is more than deserved. Unless there are things I don’t know about.
She is absolutely not to blame for Ben being trash but this coordinated pap stroll to rehab his image was also not necessary.
Yup. Enough already with Ben and Jen pap walks. He can’t hide behind the wholesome image of family anymore.
It obvious she’s still working to make Affleck look okay which I find insulting to the victims of his coming forward. If I were her you couldn’t pay me to be associated with him.
Something tells me that she’s slowly becoming ‘done’ with saving Ben.
From the look on her face in the photos, I feel like he went to her, asking for a pap stroll with the kids in a feeble attempt at redeeming some of his ‘good dad’/’family man’ cred. She’s just going along with it because a part of her still feels like she has to for the kids’ sake.
If she were really done with saving him she wouldn’t have agreed to this pap stroll in the first place. After everything that has happened, she’s still willing to do this. She’ll never reach a breaking point. Forever a doormat.
@DILIGENTDIVA I can understand where youâre coming from about her working to smooth out his image seeming insulting to the victims. I guess though I see it as her being a mom and just wanting to protect her kids. They are her first priority and her natural instinct is to do what she can to shield them from the repercussions of their fatherâs selfish and misogynistic behavior by trying to give them a normal life as they transition into divorced life. Theyâre children and will probably have to come to terms with and personally work through that at some point. But right now theyâre children, her children whom she loves. At this point doing what she can to keep the image her children have of their father âsanitizedâ is her labor of love for them. I get that it comes across as insulting and I canât even imagine her personal hell trying to clean up his image while being disgusted by his behavior at the same time. But Iâm our messy world it can and often is both. Iâve always admired mumâs who hold their tongues and donât belittle the cads who have fathered their children to them. Thatâs some sacrifice right there.
In her defense, she’s in a tough spot. Her divorce isn’t finalized, and she’s probably focused on protecting her kids above all else. If I were her lawyer, I’d tell her to avoid talking about him in public or in any way setting her up for accusations of parental alienation. I wouldn’t want to open that can of worms until I had a signed custody order in hand.
100% he’s responsible for his bad actions. She is not his keeper. He is an adult and his own keeper.
And she is responsible for only her own actions.
So I complain about the hypocrisy of BOTH who claim to want privacy for their children. Having 3+ pap agencies send photographers to scream “Ben are you sorry you grabbed her breasts?” (or whatever they’re known to scream to get attention) is not protecting them, its using children as protection. If it was 1 agency I’d say coincidence, but 3 are able to get there and get pics in the amount of time it takes to get icecream?
he’s probably still manipulating her into agreeing the pap strolls for the “sake of the family unit” because we know he’s a master manipulator like most cheaters. She’s a doormat and and obsessed about projecting the good mama image but I also get that she’s honestly trying to do what’s best for her kids and keeps being manipulated by this fucktard.
After 12.5 years she should be smarter than this. Sad.
The 12.5 years is probably why she isn’t. Sad, but reality. Abusers function by destroying the target’s sense of self.
Yup, there are a lot of celebrities who’s children I’ve never laid eyes, if Ben and Jen valued their children’s privacy the same would be true of them.
yeah… this is my problem with the whole JG debate. she’s 100% not at fault for how disgusting affleck is, it’s upsetting to see commenters blaming her instead of being angry at how gross HIS actions are. but, i literally do not understand how people buy the whole saint jen thing. like she obviously organised this pap stroll? i wish she’d leave her kids out of this mess, they really don’t need any this.
She REALLY needs to stop protecting his image. He is going to drag her down with him and in my mind, partially already has. I would never let him take the kids somewhere in public right now. The paps were probably swarming and god knows what they were shouting at them. He did this stroll to rehab his image and she clearly agreed to it. WHY??
I agree. He’s his own problem. And my only thought is that she still wants to protect her kids from his bad image/negative career fallout. So maybe she thinks if she helps him, it helps her children.
Perfectly stated.
I called it on the thread the other day that he will be out pap walking with the kids…Jen is a bonus, I’m surprised the dog wasn’t there too.
No, she is not to blame for his shitty behavior, but STOP trying to help his image. Using your kids, going for ice cream during this shit storm, just no.
Honest to God, I think dogs would be a better damage control than kids for Ben as far as pap shots. Not that anything will fix his image. LOL. But people melt over celeb photos with pets way more than family pap shots. He used to be seen all around town with his German Shepherd. I’m not a fan of German Shepherds, but he was Ben’s companion a lot. I wonder if the dog died. They had another grown dog. Then they have that Golden Retriever puppy he brought home during nannygate as a present for his kids. I melted when Ben showed up in Atlanta with that puppy, So scrumptious. Not Ben. The puppy. LOL
Ben in his car with his two dogs. The dogs look so cute. He treats his dogs better than women. Man, has he changed. I keep forgetting just a few years ago he looked healthy, not bloated.
https://images.moviepilot.com/images/c_limit,q_auto:good,w_600/bzsay0bct9szeaxzrycy/ben-affleck-and-his-dogs.jpg
I really do think she is done with him. Didn’t she hit back a bit when the Shookus story broke by letting it be known that they had been together for longer than they were saying?
I think she is putting the kids needs before her own with this. If she hadn’t turned up for the outing, that would have generated more gossip stories, which the kids could pick up on. Also, if he’s still in ‘rehab’, maybe she’s not comfortable with him being alone with the kids? That would be my take on it anyway.
But he *was* alone with the kids. He did the AM school run by himself, he picked them up by himself, took Violet to the therapist by himself. There is no way that her skipping this photo op would have generated MORE press. It was just him and the kids for his b-day and that was a blip on the radar. These pics are “UNITED FRONT FOR THE KIDS” b.s. everywhere.
If this was about trying to protect the children, she wouldn’t be doing pap walks with Ben and leaking information about how she’s ‘annoyed’ he committed sexual assaults. This is only going to increase interest, and up the amount of paps that follow her and her children around.
If she really wanted to shield them, now would be the time to let the nannies do the school runs and the activity runs for a few weeks. Lay low, let Ben crash and burn on his own, reappear when the story has played itself out.
I agree. He’s using her and the kids as props here, exposing them to unnecessary paprzi, shouting, harassing and god knows what else.
His kids need to come first, not his image.
On a side note- some celebrities we hardly ever see pics of their kids, these two are savy and know exactly where to go and not to go to get paped. This was a deliberate choice for them.
So if you take your kids out for ice cream in LA it’s a coordinated Pap walk? I guess she can stay in the house and have the ice cream delivered. I live in SoCal and the paps are absolutely insane and I’m pissed I even clicked on this story and looked at these photos. I would like sites like this to stop featuring pictures of famous people with their kids. It’s gross and voyeuristic.
The paps followed Affleck
Yes, at some point there is simply no hidden agenda when taking your kids for ice cream. Kids like going out for ice cream even if they can eat ice cream at home any time. Never leaving the house with them will freak out the kids more than the annoying cameras.
The problem is the paps who stalk people. Not everybody is like Kim Kardashian, who really does call the paps even when her kid is just out with a nanny.
Both of these people are well-known to call the paps specifically for outdoor activities with their kids. There are plenty of celebrities out there with families who rarely appear in pap photos with their children. It can be done.
If I was JG, I would be just about ready to see Ben taking a long walk off a short pier. I can’t imagine being her, or Georgina Chapman, or Mia Farrow, or ANY woman married to a serial assaulter or rapist on any level.
Speaking as someone who has been grabbed in a professional setting (someone behind me grabbed and cupped my breast while a photo was being taken), it is absolutely a violation and an assault, and it is horrifying, and every time a video like Affleck’s comes out, you’ll relive that experience (8 years later). You’ll remember that startling feeling, and freezing, and looking at your work bestie like, “WTF just happened?” I had great support, the guy got fired immediately, and it came out later I was the third person to state he had grabbed them, but I was the first one with a witness and enough clout to get something done. That’s BS from a Fortune 50 company. It also took me years to start calling it what it is, assault, instead of “oh he just grabbed my boob.” Nope. F that S.
Yeah, I’d be more than merely “annoyed”.
Man, that story really proves that for every woman who reports an incident and has it addressed, there’s usually a couple more who reported it and nothing was done. Infuriating. F that.
Speaking of Liz Lemon, I read that Tina Fey’s new tv show has an episode on sexual harassment which turns the tables – Tina Fey is a female boss harassing men, asking them to bend over and pick up stuff, and men in jeans and bulky sweaters are being accused of dressing too sexy by the women in the office.
men ask women, “what do we have to do to get you to believe us,” and women say “are you sure you are not encouraging it” And “oh, only 40 more of you need to come forth, then….maybe”
It was meant to satirize Cosby, but of course came out this week. Please, I hope I can laugh at her interpretation.
If you were married to someone and had a baby with them, and the guy had grabbed women in the past, would you want to know? Real life scenario
I’m trying to imagine it. My husband is loyal, smart, funny, handsome, and dotes on us. He’s a liberal, well-educated man. I would be devastated if it came out that he was a serial rapist or harasser.
I will say this. My husband has done a few things in his VERY early youth (teenager) that he isn’t proud of-nothing related to rape or abuse or anything, but ignorance and bigotry. He is mortified about his younger self, and while it horrified me when I learned about it, I had to weigh his behavior in his teenage years, for which he is contrite and has changed, and the man I know he is close to 30 years later, with whom I have a life and child. I took his contrition and the behavior he models consistently, and those things seriously outweighed dumb things he may have said or done as a teenager. Now, had it been rape, or sexual assault, or something more damaging and/or during our marriage-perhaps a different story.
*sigh*
@LizLemonGotMarried:
I think it’s wonderful testimony to your husband’ s character that he recognized that he was wrong as a youngster and changed accordingly.
It’s a contradiction.
On one hand you can’t say she protected him while also saying she is not part of the problem.
Literally Ben is the guilty party but Jen should be called out for her numerous pretty moves that helped cover it up.
People always say women should come forward but one of the reasons is because women know they will not be believed.
One of the reasons is the pr and power of the person.
Poor Jen. She looks upset, but they didn’t have to go in public yesterday. They could have had ice cream at home. Ben is a very damaged man. He’s worse than I thought. I wonder what his new girlfriend thinks now???
Is she supposed to never leave her house?
no, but maybe leave the house and don’t call the paps would be better for her children.
Of course not, Merritt, but she’s usually a lot more savvy than this. Her timing was atrocious. She and the kids should have done this ice cream run without BA. She should have known it is way too soon for her to try and rehab his image. Again. And, putting the kids out there for this purpose is ill advised.
She doesn’t need public outings with him just now. no way was this trip to the farmers market a necessity.
Seriously Merritt? In a time of crisis stay home. Protect your children from screaming paps, let Ben figure out his own mess.She does not need to protect him anymore. Your a bit extreme in your comment. I
This was a perfect situation where wealth could have been used to protect those children. Garner should have made different decisions. I just don’t get it.
I don’t think she needs to call the paps right now because they are probably staking her and Ben out. And the kids go to school, so at minimum they are going to leave the house for that.
If I were her, I’d lay low while this news is so fresh. And I certainly wouldn’t have gone out in public with him right now.
I do think in the past she’s courted the paparazzi, but also think right now it’s possibly the paps are targeting Ben because of the news, and she may not have arranged this. If she did, or agreed to his doing it, that’s disappointing.
Why would Garner think to hide, she wasn’t married to Weinstein. If every woman who was married to a creep unbeknownst to her hid herself away, cloistered herself, we’d be missing a big chunk of the female population.
Her children shouldn’t have to hide for Ben’s bad choices, and neither should she. Imagine that discussion
‘Sorry babies, we can’t go get icecream today, yes I know I promised, but paparazzis are too interested in molesters, and we know daddy is a bad man.’
I’d really like to see a bit of a chill on the assumption that no matter what, there is some manipulative witch, skirting her parental obligations and scheming. It’s like a Monty Python skit, with none of the funny.
real people aren’t cartoon villains or a comedy sketch characters; they’re complex and 3 D. she can be both and all of those things, a victim of a crappy ex who gets manipulated and also someones who curates her imagine through pap strolls. i literally don’t understand why should one of those things negate the other, and why the black and white thinking concerning garner.
She 100% can be someone who curates her image through pap strolls, and 100% also not trying to support Ben through nefarious means. Just because I do not agree with you on the gradations of grey here, does not mean I’m blind.
This isn’t black and white thinking, no more than you requesting we see her as contributing to the problem.
I dislike contributing to a narrative where one partner is obviously gross, and we assume immediately that the partner knows, supports and condones their behaviour. Especially when unlike Sandusky’s wife, or Camille Cosby who were there for events, and whos husbands were brought to court, Ben has never been.
Why would we assume the man who pressured and manipulated a studio to remove references to his slavery also not be capable of manipulating his wife?
I will always remember Lynch’s quote about how he would hate to be Ben’s wife. At how Ben was so good at lying over the phone.
I’ve heard nothing of similar note about Garner.
‘I dislike contributing to a narrative where one partner is obviously gross, and we assume immediately that the partner knows, supports and condones their behaviour.’
me too, and i made that clear in many of my comments regarding this story. i think him and him alone is responsible for harassing those women, and it think it’s unfair to pile this responsibility on garner.
however, i’m not gonna defend her for agreeing and/or organising pap strolls involving her children to help her gross ex-husband’s image. this is what i mean when i say it’s not black and white.
ell love, we’re going to have to agree to disagree on this.
I see your point about the hush up culture, about how people around these jerks help hide their behaviour through planned ignorance or otherwise, and how we have to do better. To put our self comfort on the line to protect others. I see and agree with those points. We all need to do better. I just don’t think Jen deserves to be focused on in this regard, and I think that is where we will not be able to agree.
@detritus
I agree.
Why should she hide if she doesn’t feel she should? He is still the father of her children no matter what happens. Her priority is her kids before anything else or anyone else. Salvage mode I am telling you that is what this is about, and she doesn’t need our approval to deal with her family problems in the way she sees fit.
Maybe she doesn’t want the stench of him to follow her children around and wants to squash it.
I am sorry if this upsets anyone but if I would take a bullet for my children, and I would, I would sit in an ice cream shop to save them public humiliation from their father’s crap. I would feel bad for the ladies, but their comfort will lose every single time to my kids. It is not her albatross to drag around for the rest of her life. She doesn’t need to make her kids pay the price for a social message that staying home and hiding won’t solve.
i don’t think she should stay home and hide, i never said that. i do think she shouldn’t agree and/or organise pap strolls with her children to reform BA’s imagine. i respect your right and anyone’s to side with her and say they would because of their children, but i also very strongly disagree.
Agree, Detritus and MagnoliaRose.
I’ve never cared much for JG but I also think the assumptions that people make about her simply because she married an ass are unfair. Again, I know it’s a gossip site and we all speculate and maybe I’ve just been oversensitive lately but I do feel like people always assume the worst about Garner.
I’m going to stick to my premise of “I don’t know what I don’t know” until someone provides proof that the pap stroll was orchestrated to polish up Ben’s image, I’m going to give her the benefit of the doubt here.
Maybe I just don’t belong on a gossip site where presumptions and assumptions are not only the norm, but expected and encouraged. Sorry if I ruin the fun đ
This on the same site that crucifies Ben’s new gf over things that the tabloids allege and of which we have no real proof (that she was his mistress for years for example). Where’s the “I don’t know what I don’t know” mentality then?
@lolo tbf Kitten was def not one of those making those assumption about affleck’s new gf, however tons of people defending JG now have been making horrible comments about shookus (who has nothing to do with this) for months.
I wasn’t directing at that poster just saying in general, there is a double standard. The very worst is immediately believed when it comes to the new gf but Jen always, always gets the benefit of the doubt.
i can’t disagree, the stan is strong with JG and there are definitely double standards.
@ell- thank you! Yeah I remember the Shookus threads and they were disgusting. I didn’t know the derogatory comments were coming from JG stans though? I just assumed it was people tarring and feathering her for dating Affleck. You know, the same ol’ “blame the woman” BS.
TBH, I didn’t know JG even had any stans on this site. It seems like most people are divided into two groups: hate her intensely or ambivalent towards her.
@Kitten, i assumed they were stans because most of the comments were about how perfect and lovely JG is, and how horrible LS is. also they really bought the narrative of LS being the mistress, which i really don’t get where it even came from? when BA and JG first separated the affair that was known was with the nanny, we heard nothing about LS until sometime this summer and that’s a very long time. even if LS and BA had been together for longer than when they became public (which is likely), BA and JG were separated for at least 2 years… how can LS be the mistress of a separated man? that’s why i think it’s stans, the narrative is very stan-like.
i don’t think people either hate or are ambivalent about JG, i actually find that either people crazy love her for being wholesome and a pr queen (i saw lots of people praising her for being petty enough to have a pap stroll with BA’s mum right after he went public with LS), or are ambivalent about her which is where i fall. a small but vocal minority hates her, but she definitely has a strong stan fanbase.
I am in the ambivalent category who never slammed Shookus. I also felt like JG was ridiculous with the PR stuff. I don’t stan anyone because I know how different people are from their images a lot of the time and I don’t buy into the thought than any celebrity is extraordinary or above reproach, but I like some better than others.
However, I used to defend Ben in some instances, and I still think I was right, but he is such a mess, now I only see a bloated, selfish, dysfunctional man who needs rehab and deep therapy.
Yeah, I actually prefer Shookus to Garner.
And while I didnât do the best on the two of them and their alcohol use, you can bet I wasnât blaming Shookus for the end of the marriage, or saying less than complimentary things on her looks.
I have no idea who these people shitting on Shookus for months, now defending Garner would be, but I tend to avoid the Garner threads. Too much mommy judging.
It’s so hard to tell what’s going on here. Maybe Jen meets him in public on purpose to keep him out of her house now-establishing a clear boundary post-divorce?
I don’t let my ex into my place ever. My house, my rules, plus not enough sage in the world to burn to banish my ex’s bad juju.
Ex wife irritated by ex husband. Stop the presses! đ
LOL
I feel bad for any child of a celebrity. But, Jennifer, this is the profession you chose and it comes with public scrutiny and sadly for kids, those headlines. It seems there are certain celebs who can hide from the paps and others like she and Jolie that are a fixture. I wonder what the secret of anonymity is?!
Ummm, while “shielding” the kids is a noble goal, their oldest daughter is 11? 12? She knows. If she doesn’t she will know shortly. She’s hearing things. I hope that they’ve talked to her because hearing it in the schoolyard will be a lot worse than mommy and daddy talking about mistakes.
Violet knows. She is hearing things and possibly being taunted with details from classmates. Tweens can be vicious.
Listen, the kids have front row seats for all the Ben stuff. They know who he is.
If you have to “work hard” to preserve your husband’s image…it’s probably a sign that the marriage will end up harming you in the end. I don’t buy Lainey’s philosophy that Jen comes out of this marriage untainted…I think it has taken its toll.
The only reason Jen would be ‘tainted’ is because misogynists hold her responsible for her husband’s brazen sexual assaults and continue implying that she tolerated Ben’s inexcusable behaviour for the fame or money or power couple status or some foolishness like that. Considering this thread, and all the women-blaming that’s going on in other threads, I’d say you’re right – Jen isn’t going to make it out unscathed, but not for any wrongdoing on her part.
I feel more bad for Garner then anything else, for years Ben made her look like a fool. I don’t know why she stayed. Is fame really that important to people?
Obviously, she isn’t responsible for her ex’s actions but I would caution her to keep her children from this man. Obviously, something is wrong with all the Afflecks given how both brothers turned out. She should keep her children as far away from this toxicity as possible.
“I donât know why she stayed.” I think we’ve all thought this about someone, a celebrity, a friend, a family member, etc, but the reality of it always so much more complicated than we as outsiders see.
We don’t know the dynamics of their relationship. We can assume it was for fame or money or status or whatever, but there are a lot of regular people who stay in unhealthy, toxic, or abusive relationships too.
I think the good thing is that she eventually did NOT stay.
Ben’s actions regarding women are deplorable and the flood gates are open now. I think we’re going to be hearing a lot of stories from a variety of men including Ben. If he felt he had the right to grab a young woman’s breast on live tv, you can bet your ass the there’s more out there.
Should Jennifer be responsible for her ex husband’s behavior? No, if she didn’t know about it. The question is did she know about it? Maybe she felt like Camille Cosby that her husband was a womanizer instead of coming to terms that he’s a sexual predator. Her silence is uncomfortable for me. Also, I agree Ben’s statement was weak and a joke.
I don’t take pleasure in these stories. It’s sickening. I feel badly for anyone who is or has gone through this. In any walk of life. Nobody should feel unsafe, ever.
Also the argument of this could be you sister, mother, daughter. Is wearing thin on me. You should always stick up for anyone who is being exploited, abused regardless of who they are. You shouldn’t put a personal touch to abuse in order to relate to it.
“Should Jennifer be responsible for her ex husbandâs behavior? No, if she didnât know about it.” NOOOOOOOOO!!! Wether she knew or not, she is NOT responsible for his behavior.
What I mean to say if she knew about his behavior and was complicit, then that a huge problem. If she honestly didn’t know, of course she is not responsible for his actions.
Again, whether she knew or not has no bearing on HER responsibility. HE behaved horribly, and that is not, nor will ever be on her. Complicit if she knew and did nothing? We have ample evidence of her trying to make him into a decent man, so I’ll not put any of this on her. She bears zero responsibility for his actions. He’s her ex, not her minor son.
She is covering for his mistakes by using their kids for paparazzi walk.
He covers his mistakes . The paps followed him. HE took their children at school and HE came to a neutral place to meet her
I bet he called and begged her to do a “See? I’m a good person! I’m a father! I have daughters! My ex-wife, who by-the-way is a perfect stereotypical suburban mom, still likes me!” pap stroll to shore up a better image. Obviously she agreed to it, probably more for the kids’ sake than Ben’s.
^ ^ ^ ^ ^
This + 1000000
I agree. At this point, it was for the kids’ sake. It stops the stories that will come up in rags. Jen isn’t speaking to him. His kids are estranged, on and on. Also, she is over him and moving on, but she is the type that probably hates seeing him such a mess and crashing from yet another self-inflicted wound. I am like her in that respect. You shouldn’t feel some sympathy or pain for that person, but you do because you had once loved them so much and they’re the father of your children. And you still remember the other sides to that person.
Judge away, but you can’t take the goodness and kindness from Jen. She came out and met them for ice-cream for a quick pap shot, and I do understand it. He thinks it will do damage control, but it won’t help him. No pap shot is going to wash this away. His eyes show a man very sad and who knows he’s f’cked right now from the stories and all the previous stories building up to this one. He is struggling horribly with his alcoholism. But the photos will stop possibly the rag mag stories that would build around how Ben has lost his kids and Jen is in the throes of depression, not speaking to him.
What they show to me is Ben has such beautiful little girls, and his son also, and they clearly adore him. And he is just missing out on a happy life with them as a functioning, present, clear-headed father, because he is so knee-deep in addiction and other destructive traits.
I disagree it’s not for the kids sake. Jen went to curt about the paparazzi harassment towards and around kids.
Jen knows the paparazzi are going to be telling and saying inappropriate thing infrount of her kids. With Ben there it was going to be 10 times worse. Their oldest daughter is old enough to understand what the pops are talking about. The photo op was for Ben sake and his alone.
Ben has already demonstrated that he veiws his kids a as Pawns to fix his public image. Every time he has bad press he runs to do a happy family photo op.
@sherry
100% agree with this. And yes it was probably all for the kids’ sake. I feel badly for Jen, once you have children you are stuck with the other parent forever one way or another. Her life has not or will be easy.
Had nothing to do with the kids’ sake. It was all for Ben’s image repair and there is no excuse, none.
These kids probably have to file tax returns for all their professional pap walking. It’s been disturbing for ages.
see, i mean the perception of JG is just so so odd. how is involving children in pap walks to their benefit? are you lot serious?
If I was in her shoes there would not be any of these âget together for ice cream for the kidsâ outings. He would be dead to me. Looks to me like she is still putting up with his bs. She needs to wash her hands of that mess once and for all.
H’s the father of her children. It’s not cut and dry.
Exactly. My cousin and I were talking about this when she separated and divorced her alcoholic husband. They’d been together since high school and had 3 kids. When we were still teenagers we were all, “If my husband ever … I would leave him so fast his head would spin!” After she left him, we both said, “It’s not that easy when you’re actually married and have kids. You’ve got to think about them and how your actions/reactions affect them.”
Sherry, precisely.
@Sherry
You are so on the one with that.
I used to say if a couple separates they should just get divorced it is over move on. Uh no. Life is not a declaration and marriage is hard work, and sometimes it is not fun, but you don’t know that until you do it.
When you have kids, it changes everything, and I am glad I made a different call because some problems were my crap rearing from the past and it is like that. So you grow up and make hard decisions, and it isn’t for anyone else’s approval.
See, I always found the opposite. When it was just me, I put up with a lot. Now I have children…I won’t allow them to spend a second in the kind of situations or with the kind of lousy people I thought were ok for me to be around.
Ben committed sexual assaults. He very publicly supports and spends a lot of time with his brother, who committed extremely serious sexual assaults. He’s also an almost always off the wagon alcoholic (and I suspect there’s other addiction issues too), who disrupted his children’s lives and routine by sleeping with their nanny right as he and their mother were seperating.
If I was Jennifer I’d be fighting for sole custody right now. Protecting her children in this case should mean limiting exposure to their predatory, alcoholic father, not trying to play happy families and pretend it’s all fine.
Having been in that situation, I agree Sherry. Decisions should be made on the basis of the kids’ welfare, not your hurt feelings or what other people might say.
Yep Annetommy.
I know we used to disagree about Jen but we are on the same page today.
To me there is a HUGE difference between making an effort to allow him in the kids’ lives, and letting him use them for a pap stroll when his image is in crisis. This was completely, unequivocally unnecessary on all fronts. I am sooooo not in agreement with the whole For The Kids mentality, specifically not in this case.
If I was in her shoes (which would never happen because her shoe game makes my toes sad), I’d have given the paps and the people what they want and shoved the ice cream up his nose then turned to the cameras, dusted off my shoulder, and stomped away in my horrible mom shoes. She’s obviously a better person than me.
He never looks happy when heâs with his kids. Maybe itâs just me but dude is always looking like his children are burdens.
He cares more about his vices and lifestyle. I’m sure he loves his children, but they’re most likely not the top priority.
In the original DM article it shows that he picked the girls up from school and Jennifer met them at the ice cream shop. Maybe she doesnât want the dirtbag anywhere near her home anymore and she met them there to pick up the girls. IDK and neither does anyone else here commenting. What is tedious are the accusations of pap strolls. The paps knew someone would be picking up the girls at school, so they stationed themselves there and followed them. Should JG go into hiding or hold up her head and continue on with her normal routine? But, of course, if some want to continue yesterdayâs theme of blaming her, have at it.
saying she organises pap strolls, which she 100% does, is not the same as saying she’s to blame for BA’s actions. let’s not conflate things now.
i can’t with the black and white thinking concerning garner on this site, she can be BOTH an attention seeker and a victim of a crappy ex, the 2 aren’t mutually exclusive.
As I said, I donât know her thinking or actions, nor does anyone else here. Iâll give her the benefit of the doubt.
It was set up by Ben or he knew the paps would follow him and then have the shots.. But I understand her agreeing to the ice-cream shot. I don’t blame her or fault her.
He hardly ever does the school run or we’d have more pics of him doing it. The week that he’s revealed to be a total sleaze, he’s doing both the AM and PM runs, plus ice cream, hand holding and hugs and kisses. This was clearly organized, and Jen allowed it. I just do.not.understand.
With no evidence of abuse of the children (and I’m not suggesting such evidence exists) Ben probably has legal rights to unsupervised access. Therefore there is no way Jen could STOP this sort of pap walk. The most she could do is be there as well (which Ben would probably agree to to push the happy family narrative).
@Tia She could simply say no when he asks if he can do the school run. The kids live with her, she has primary physical custody. The paps are all over him right now. Say NO.
Alex, she canât just say no if they have a legal agreement, which Iâm sure they do since theyâre divorcing, she has to follow what their stipulation or court order says. My ex picked my son up from daycare one day, without saying anything to me, after we were broken up, we had no legal agreement. I freaked out and called the police, and Iâm a nobody unlike Jen so her doing it would be all over the news thanks to tmz, and they told me that Iâd have to go to court to get my son back. It didn’t come to that but basically you Have to let the kids see the other parent, and you donât get to dictate what they do with their time either. Itâs far from a simple situation.
I would bet any money that no real progress has been made in their divorce terms, i.e. finances, custody, etc. I bet they have not even really had lawyers working on it. So I highly doubt they have any kind of legal agreement. She has the kids, he sees them when he feels like it and doesn’t have anything better to do.
Stop being so reasonable and open-minded. You clearly don’t belong here.
I would distance myself from Ben and not be out in public with him for the time being, but I am not privy to their arrangements regarding the children, so I am not going to judge
i think it’s ok for her to be with him in public, or even the children. just don’t call the paps fgs.
Yeah Jerusha…sighhhhhhh.
If she burps call 911 immediately because Ben is a creep.
Sometimes the best way to shield kids is to find a safe and loving way to help them hear and accept the bad parts of life because any family is only as sick as it’s secrets. Eventually the kids will find out, and it will be on someone else’s time and terms. They need to be prepared to deal with it. I’ve seen kids find out that one parent was the total opposite of what the parent they trusted (with all good intentions) led them to believe, and they turned on that parent for lying to them and breaking their trust. It was a second blow for those kids. When I got my divorce, the court required that every couple doing so had to attend mandatory parenting classes, and the thing that stuck with me was the advice to make sure you were honest with your kids (without attacking the other parent) so the kids didn’t think it was their fault if the other parent was a crap human being BUT also that they did not resent you for lying to them if you lied to cover it up and they found out the truth on their own.
Yes, a friend of mine, an attorney, told me the hardest thing to get some divorcing parents to understand, is that you HAVE to love your children more than you hate your ex. It would seem simple, but, tragically, no.
It was definitely a struggle for me, mostly because I didn’t even hate my ex (by the time we got divorced, I mostly felt sorry for him because he was a trainwreck of a human being) but I HATED the way he treated and damaged my kids, particularly my son. Then psycho mom would come out. I have an extremely smart mouth and a vicious tongue that has at least eleventy billion holes in it from biting it when I had to deal with him as a parent. It took me a lot of personal growth to realize that I would do more damage ripping into him in front of my kids, because my words carried a lot of weight and I was saying them to their dad. I could be right with him, or I could be right for them. It is a lot of work.
This SandraDee. All of this. I’m one of those kids and it has impacted me my entire life. And if you can’t be honest, have the power to change the situation or environment for your children, and then be honest with them when the time is right and you’re in a better place.
I’m sorry you were impacted like that. I also would add that it’s important to be honest for the listener’s benefit, and not your own. It would have been hurtful to tell the brutal truth even though it was the truth….I had to find ways to do it so it didn’t reflect on my kids. There’s a huge difference between “Daddy lies because he’s a pathological lying twatwaffle” and “Daddy lies, but it’s because he can’t help himself, it’s like something in him makes him lie, just like cats make you sneeze, and it’s not your fault, it’s just who he is…”
I give you a lot of credit. I think it’s harder to do what you did and takes a stronger person than if you had acted emotionally and (dare I say) selfishly. Good for you for understanding your children’s’ needs and being careful about how things were communicated. It’s so important.
Not a chance in hell those kids, especially the oldest, haven’t been met with some snotty classmate making a comment about her dad. The entire community they live in is almost exclusively based around the entertainment industry – their parents are talking about it and all they have to do is hop online to see the rampant coverage. Weird how Ben isn’t doing staged photo ops with the mistress, has it finally dawned on him that no one finds anything about that relationship worthy of praise or envy? I don’t care how many times he cheated with other women – Lindsay Shookus was his mistress for 2+ years and they are both disgusting trash.
He was just with her this past weekend in NYC, strolling away for the paps.
Are those two plus year during the separation or afterwards?
Why are you putting the blame on the new girlfriend and not just on Ben. Also he’s not doing with the photo op with his girlfriend because that not going to benefit his image right now.
i’m really uncomfortable with the misogyny towards his gf, literally no one but you is bothering to call it out. they keep talking about giving JG the benefit of the doubt, but no one is bothering to afford shookus the same treatment? literally no one knows if she were his mistress and for how long. she also has nothing to do with this.
That is definitely the look of a mom thinking, “I have to keep it together for my kids.” Like she’s trying to focus on her child in that one pic but she’s obviously totally distracted by something.
The Hilarie Burton clip of him grabbing her breast was from 2001. Ben was promoting Pearl Harbor. The junket interviews were done in Hawaii in front of the ocean.
Iâm always conflicted when we start talking about spouses being complicit, enabling, etc.
Marriage is supposed to be a sacred vow through it all…through everything, (Iâm divorced so I have failed at that, and I am not judging.)
On one hand, I do not want to judge another womanâs choices in a marriage. If she chooses to remain married thatâs her business.
However with kids it gets dicey, One must weigh the question of âwhat am I role modeling…….love, forgiveness, persistence, second chances, rebirth …….abuse, disrespect, damageâ. Itâs a continuum that is personally defined and I get queasy applying my yard stick to others.
I donât buy that it is open season to judge anyone who is married to a douche or even an abuser. I donât even judge CAmille Cosby, but I damn sure wouldnât have stayed with him, But thatâs ME.
But really, I just donât think that we have the right to assign expectations on a woman as it relates to her marital relationship. Itâs between the 2 spouses and we arenât parties to the relationship. She doesnât owe us explanations, or meeting our expectations. Itâs a sacred vow THEY took so itâs theirs to manage.
+1
Then they need to stop putting their sh-t out there for us to consume and truly go away. No more “sources” leaking things to the press. No more pap strolls. No more media tours about how they’re such a modern family and ‘look at how great is our divorce is’ and ‘we’re coparenting champions’. They want people to mind their own business? They need to shut it and stop using their personal lives for press!!!
+ 1,000,000 They invite this kind of scrutiny and do nothing to dissuade it.
I agree they certainly worked PR to their advantage. No question and yes that invites the speculation, And it is a byproduct to their specific choices in media mgmt,
My post was more generic though……it didnât mean them specifically ….itâs a broader question about judging why people stay in marriages to individuals with known issues,,,,
I agree 100% she’s not to blame for Ben’s actions, but I do find it hypocritical to say she’s now annoyed that the world found out about what she already knew and stayed in for 12+ years. Women are not powerless victims. There are consequences to our actions, just as there are for all humans, male or female. Like much of society, she probably saw Ben’s behavior as “boys club”, “bad boy” type stuff but not veering into Weinstein territory, which I assume is why she wanted to marry him even after strippergate and the Burton and French Canadian interviews already being out there in the world. But there are consequences to getting into and staying in a relationship like that. I don’t know why people are so opposed to this view – simply being a woman doesn’t exempt you from responsibility in everything.
I’ve been in extremely toxic situations – my mom actually had an affair (fancy that!) during a very long, bad marriage to my dad when I was a teenager, and I’ve been in a very destructive long-term marriage as well. I know all about men saying things and being charismatic at the right time and falling for it, etc. But at the end of the day, I’m not a victim. I’m not powerless. I alone made the decision to stay – over and over. I had the money, wherewithal and support to leave, but I didn’t – unlike others who don’t have any of those advantages. That’s on me. As for my mom, she also looks back now and is very open about the passive role she played in remaining in her marriage for so long and the consequences to our family. Again, his actions are NOT Jen’s fault in any way, shape or form, but saying she’s now annoyed – that what was hidden behind a white picket image for so long is now public and affecting her and the kids – irks me.
We all know she knew about his infidelity, which I’m 100 percent sure he framed in a certain way and manipulated her into thinking it was “only one time” or “the last time.” I will absolutely not fault her for believing him or believing in him. It’s obvious she wanted him to be something that he isn’t capable of being. I’ve seen this happen in my own life, with my parents.
Ben is disgusting. I’m going to throw this out there – I’m guessing she didn’t think he was targeting, abusing, and victimizing women because it’s easy to assume that Ben wouldn’t have to force himself on anyone…because you know, women are willingly throwing their panties at him. I realize that statement is problematic, but I think a lot of women (like Jen) who are in committed relationships with abusers, cheaters, predators, etc. think that way. They excuse behavior and live with/in deep, deep denial. A level that some of us have probably never experienced, and I hope never will. I feel for her. I believe she’s a victim in this too. I think this is the beginning of her realization that he wasn’t the prize she once thought he was… for SO many reasons. That in and of itself can be crushing.
He needs to go away and never come back. We won’t miss him. Hollywood won’t miss him. Lindsay, just walk away – if not for you then your son.
I don’t know about accepting women who choose to be, and remain in, denial as victims.
Denial of reality is dangerous and can often make it easier for others to be victimised by maintaining the PR-friendly veneer around abusers.
Unless there’s trauma from abuse initiated in the home, public pressure to stay, inability to leave, I feel like it’s a bit undermining of her capabilities to say she’s a victim. It’s been clear she’s been very attached to Ben from the start and letting go of that might be part of her delay in distancing herself until things can no longer be denied.
She was apparently there to take Sera home father the girls had a treat with Ben and then Ben accompanied Violet to her appt. they are seen coming from the office they have frequently in the past. I don’t think Jen was a willing part of any pap walk with him in this display. He is still the dad. There was a witness who apparently commented that he tried to hug her and she wasn’t into it. The photos capture a split second. Also her intensity with Sera seems like something happened.
Jen has worked very hard to separate her image from Ben’s for months and though she was part of the pap train for him for years, I totally don’t believe she was in for this one.
What is the new news for JG this week where BA is concerned? Everything thatâs been brought up is a regurgitation of things reported b none in the past. Maybe the fact Rose told him about her assault immediately after? But I kind of think that would have come up in 10 years of marriage in tinsel town.
Really, what is there here for JG to be freshly aggrieved over? My only Take is the kids are older, itâs getting harder and harder to shield them from the outside world, etc. and that time is pretty much here. But that day was always going to come.
Seriously just trying to break this down and Iâm not seeing it, sorry, Jen, this is life with Ben. No new news here. As I said to my brother yesterday when we were commiserating about stuff on the phone âyou ever notice that time keeps rolling along and the same shit in our lives never really changesâ? đ
i’m pretty sure his children didn’t know he grabbed randos’ buttcracks at parties, without their consent. chances are jen didn’t know either, so yes it’s news.
@ell. Good point. Guess I kind of filed that one under âheâs done that shit before and itâs been caught in tape evenâ. Maybe itâs a fresh one and itâs more recent and in the span of their marriage…..but after nannygate, knowing she knew about him and Shuckus when they were carrying on a few years back…etc….
If she wasn’t a willing partner in being photographed, she could have sent one of her nannies to collect the children from Ben. It would have meant less exposure for the children.
I just can’t believe that it would be a good move for Warner Bros to start a press tour with this burden of a sexual harasser in tow. It’s already a mess like you said, adding Momoa and his “fun” jokes, so knowing that Affleck been already fired as Batman as rumor has it and they were waiting for JL to open so they would announce he’s done right after, wouldn’t be better announce it now and save face at least a bit during the press tour?
No. People already know he’s not coming back as Batman. If they announce it during the press tour, it takes the focus off of the movie, and that becomes the focus, Ben out as Batman. They will just use a lot of the other actors to push the movie and probably not allow any questions on that where Ben is in the group. This will be the group of actors out doing interviews in teams and threesomes or two at a time, not really just one actor alone doing interviews, for the most part. And now they definitely won’t put Ben out there alone.. They will just keep the focus on the movie and the making of it.
that’s a good point, because I don’t see how this bad PR can be handled in anyway without avoiding at least a bit of drama whether is facing a Batman-less promo tour or a Buttman promo tour is already a mess in any case and as you are rightfully saying he’s done as Batman they’re just trying to find where when and how to tell it publicly to not hurt JL. I’m positive they already have picked the new Batman, my bets are on Armie Hammer.
Both are just so gross for using the kids as props in this mess.
Wow, she does really look upset. Jen has that look of a woman who is going to start angry crying and slap the jerk. She is trying to keep it together. We all know that Jen does these pap strolls. I think this case is the pap’s are hounding them.
Jen, seriously enough is enough! Take a page from Angelina Jolie. Put your foot down, mourn, move on and let your children decide what is comfortable in their relationship with their Father. Sweetie, I am telling you when those kids get older they won’t blame Ben but they will blame you.
it kinda looks like she smells something gross the way she’s pinching her nose.
Yeah, thats the face of pain under control
That nose grab? Thats trying to stop or hide tears.
Itâs amazing that both brothers, Ben and Casey Affleck, are sexual harassers. Yet, Casey won an Oscar last year (because he shouldnât have been penalized for what happened and the focus shouldâve been solely on his acting). White male privilege on display and thatâs why we have a sexual predator in the White House.
This. Hopefully this is truly the end of the boys network in all forms everywhere on earth. Although that seems a big thing to hope, Iâm focusing on that.
it kinda makes me mad that people are acting shocked at Ben’s behavior. he uses escorts, slept with the nanny, cheated on Jlo with a stripper(there were pics back then), and countless cheating on Jen. we could also add, his coke habit, drinking addiction and the fact that no one s out his HGH usage to get into “shape” for those Batman roles. plus he was banned from casinos for cheating.
dude is the hottest of hot messes. rememeber him in mallrats? maybe he played himself.and we didn’t even know it?
He has always treated women like they are objects. He has never been respectful. His asswipe brother is the same way. Mom must be so proud of her boys, both sexual abusers.
Could you leave their mother out of it and stop blaming a woman for mens’ actions please?
I’m annoyed and disappointed that she is still participating in these pap strolls. He made his bed, he should be made to rot in it. ALL of his problems are his own making. This is beyond “for the kids,” this is more toxic codependency and trying to save him, all at the expense of the kids’ privacy and security. Nope nope nope. This is basically enabling behavior and I just can’t believe it. $1000 says that he is allowed to do the church stroll (more hand holding and kisses) this Sunday even though he hasn’t stayed for a church service in MONTHS.
If he has joint custody he may be able to insist on the pap strolls for the kids. Jen’s only choice may be whether she accompanies them.
Please note I am not saying she hasn’t arranged pap strolls to push the happy families narrative in the past – she clearly has. I’m just not convinced she is in on it this time – she’s good enough at them not to appear upset and angry unless she wants to.
As far as I can tell they aren’t even legally divorced yet. Whatever custody arrangement they have is informal at best. She can still put her foot down as to when and where he’s able to see them if she wants to. It is pathetic that she is still doing this stuff for him.
Cody, custody is never informal. It may temporary, which means itâs still been signed by a judge. Child visitation is very strict and Ben could take Jen to court for obstructing his visitation. She could be found in contempt of court, worst case scenario obviously.
She shouldn’t have to share the blame for his ex’s action, it’s not her fault. Though she may have known he was sleazy and a cheater, I don’t think she suspected of him being an abuser etc.
I really hope she’ll find a good man and, most importantly, that she’ll focus on HER career. Jennifer doing an action movie next is already a good move, I loved her in Alias, as opposed as her usual not relevant mom roles.
An abuser? I think the issue here is that society hasn’t traditionally viewed these types of things as “abuse.” Whether we like it or not, many people see a line in the sand between the type of things Ben has done and what Weinstein did. It’s probably why Jen turned a blind eye to it, thinking it was obnoxious frat boy type behavior, but he’d change when they got married. In addition to his cheating, drinking and prolonged absences, his tryst with strippers while engaged to JLo and his interview with the Canadian reporter were already well known before she married him, so it’s hard to believe she didn’t at least suspect he was probably inappropriate and handsy/grabby with women. But once again, society, including girlfriends/wives, have tended to downplay this kind of behavior. My guess is that this is also why Ben was so quick to issue that statement via Twitter. Even he himself didn’t put himself in the same category as Weinstein. This is a pervasive cultural pattern – in HWood, professional sports, on college campuses, etc. It’s not just Ben Affleck. And it’s going to take a lot of education with both men and women – young and old – to start shifting existing views and behaviors.
Groping a woman’s breast and another woman’s behind is certainly abuse/assault and let’s not try to mitigate his behavior. He doesn’t need yet another person making excuses for him. His actions don’t have to be as atrocious as Weinstein’s for them to “count.” Time to hold him accountable.
This pap stroll was permitted for the kids’ sake? No. It was for Ben’s sake. The girls don’t need to be dragged in front of swarming paps shouting god-knows-what at them because their sleezebag dad needs an image boost. How exactly does that benefit them? It doesn’t. I just can’t believe that she is still participating in this kind of BS. I thought she was cool, strong Jen now who has moved on and is done with him? Yeah, sure.
How do we even know how this outing came about? I think the only thing we can be sure of is that Jen loves those young kids. She wouldn’t have her sources tell E! how annoyed she is about the whole thing and its impact on those young kids, if she was still propping up his image. Is it beyond belief that this outing came about because she was putting her kids first and the kids wanted to see their dad? Is it out of this world that it was Ben’s camp who called the paps and Jen couldn’t find a way out – again because she was putting her kids first? Remember when nanny gate blew up and suddenly Ben wanted nothing but spend his birthday in Disney World? Look at those pictures: do you think Jen wanted to be there? But she had to suck it up, didn’t she?
Hi Jen!
Do you even realise people can have an opinion different from yours? No need to resort to something so inane.
I don’t think she had to be there or that she had to allow it to happen. She can’t control a lot of things, but she can control how Ben use the kids.
IF Harvey Weinstein did a pop walk right know with his young kids and soon to be ex-wife. No one would say she did it to benefit the kids or she had no choice.
I don’t really understand this need by some posters to question/pick apart posts where the opinion differs from theirs. The only reality here is that no one in this board is privvy to what actually happened. You think one way, I beg to differ. Everything is subjective and no one knows the absolute truth.
Yeah, but thatâs what gossip is. Sadly.
All this time, all the public humiliations, the mistress the he upgraded to girlfriend, the addictions, the scandals — and she is still letting him run her. Unreal. She’ll never love herself. Is that divorce even final yet or is she taking him back?
She loves more her childrenâs wellness than her dignity
FFS. Protective mommies don’t parade their young kids in front of the paps during a media firestorm because the ex needs good press. That is totally backward. They are innocent children, not pawns in some PR game. I am disgusted and yet unsurprised. This is how they’ve operated for YEARS. I just thought she was done with him and this but clearly not. That is s-a-d.
I am so disgusted. Garner participating in this pap stroll shows exactly what her priority is: Ben’s reputation. She doesn’t give a shit that the kids are being dragged in front of swarming paps. She’s all for helping this scuzzbucket resurrect himself yet again. Simply pathetic.
Forever his ashes and FOREVER his doormat.
forever his enabler.
They have kids together. It will always be her burden. Not yours.
Jen isn’t a saint either. I wonder if Jen is addicted to Ben, and the lavish lifestyle/fame he has provided for their family.
Jen knew who Ben was, got pregnant, and married him. Not blaming Jen for Ben’s behavior at all. However, who has 3 children with an addict?
I have sympathy for the Affleck children, because Ben is never going to be a respectable father/ human being.
She is still trying to win him back, whatever it takes, pathetic indeed
No, she’s not. No big smiles once in these photos like the old days of their separation but happily parenting together pics. And Ben’s phony gesture of putting his hand on her back while leaning in to talk to her for the paps is so obvious.
He’s with Lindsay. She’s not trying to get him back from Lindsay. They are long past the point of no return.
Ben will always have emotional ties with Jen…look at the pic with his hand on her back & it looks like he is kissing her head. Maybe this is his rock bottom ? This is sad to see! His children deserve better! This man had it all & he threw it all away!!!
Sadly, I don’t think Ben probably remembers 1/2 of what he has done , which is scary! ( I am not condoning his behavior) Regardless, if she did know, she is not to blame! I can’t imagine how mentally, emotionally & physically exhausting it was /is dealing with Ben’s messes for their children!
I don’t think he’s trying to kiss her head. It looks to me as if he’s trying to speak closer to her ear so not everyone can hear. I get the impression he chose this moment (gutlessly in front of their children, the public, and the paps) to reveal something. She looks taken off guard, he looks like he’s trying to talk her down, and when he’s hugging her, her body language is resistant.
No one needed to call the paps – they are dogging BA.
I love that she looks like a normal mom. And her Instagram is adorable. She is not responsible for Ben’s behavior and I’m glad she is finally OUT. Hopefully she can heal and move on with her life.
She’s not “OUT”. She’s still dragging her precious kids out for pap strolls with/for him.
She doesnât want to leave their kids alone with him… I donât blame her. He looks unhinged.
Well, she did leave them alone with him. These photos were taken after they’d been alone with him.
If that’s a concern, and it should be, she needs to go to court and request he only have supervised visitation. She doesn’t need to participate in pap walks with him, that only serve to put more attention on the children.
Guys, I know Iâm going to get lambasted for this but I really donât think she was a willing participant in this alleged pap stroll. Take a quick Google image trip down memory lane with her big smiles and waves and farmers market family performances in the past. She may have done those before, but this wasnât one of them.
I totally agree with you. Multiple agencies having shots means next to nothing. I think the spotlight is also on him right now and the paps are looking for trouble to get angry/upset shots.
Yeah, I agree with both of you
No, I don’t think so either. I think he called and ambushed her. She usually tries to make a happy moment pap stroll but he is the one doing all the posing here. He is just that much of a douche to do that too.
Countdown to:
the pumpkin patch pap stroll
the church pap stroll (coming this Sunday!)
the trick-or-treating pap stroll
We will be bombarded with family pap strolls and leaked family get togethers until this story dies and he can go back to ignoring the kids and drinking with his girlfriend. It’s all so transparent and trashy, just like them. ETA: jen is getting literally dragged and trashed on dlisted and ontd for this pap stroll. Once a spineless doormat, always a spineless doormat!
it’s not even about being a spineless doormat, it’s just depressing she’s agreeing and/or organising pap strolls with these poor children who are 100% getting shouted things about ben by the paps, just to BA’s benefit. and i can’t understand how people are saying it’s ‘for the children’ like, what do they gain from it, exactly??
So the kids are supposed to not go to church, not go trick or treating, and not go to the pumpkin patch because some folks will accuse one or both of their parents of doing a pap stroll? None of the things can be done at home behind locked doors.
As much as I agree that Ben is awful. I don’t think the photos are anything about that. In the photos there’s something going on with the girls that she’s upset about- normal family life also happens amongst the high scandal.
This occurred to me too. Something could have happened at school. Could be anything. Sheâs looking intently at the child in most of this, her concern is directed at the kid it looks like, to me it looks like focus on what the child is saying. I mean, who knows really. Ben is in hot water so any shots of them or anyone with him are going to be ripe fodder for negativity.
I don’t think she called the paps at all on this occassion. She looks upset and pissed off they are there, to me.
She might not have called them, but she knew they’d be there. There’s no reason she couldn’t have sent one of her nannies to the collect the children instead. If for some unknown reason it absolutely had to be her, she still could have told Ben that no, she wouldn’t go to an ice cream shop that coincidentally couldn’t be more perfectly set up for the paps to get pictures from the street, and that they would have to do the handover of the children somewhere private where the paps couldn’t get pictures of the two of them together. Even if that just meant him taking them inside a store, her arriving and picking them up, and him then leaving separately.
You are right. They have the video @X17, and she is not happy at all. She showed up after they did and told the paps to go away and she looked pissed off. Nope, not hers this time.
I like her sunglasses. That’s all I got today.
I wonder how long it will be until Ben is back in N.Y. with Lindsay?
I dunno, she looks pretty upset here and my guess it wasn’t her idea to organize a pap stroll. I saw the other pictures on the DM of Affleck picking up Violet and Seraphina at school (he was holding up an AFFLECK sign, are parents required to hold up signs at their school when picking up kids or a show for the paparazzi?) and then taking the kids to an ice cream place which is where Jen met up with them. The paparazzi had been following Ben and not Jen and my guess he called the paps if that’s what happened. She looks pretty stressed, I wonder if he sprung this on her without telling her. I wouldn’t put it past Ben to do this.
Hopefully Jen is relieved she is no longer with him this guy. She’ll be attached to him for life because of the kids but at least she is moving forward with the divorce proceedings. Also Violet at least is most likely aware of what is going on. I was 10 when the Monica Lewinsky scandal exploded in the White House and even I knew what was going on. Maybe not the most intimate details (I didn’t know what certain sexual acts were at that age) but I understood the gist that he was unfaithful to Hillary and lied about it.
It is interesting that they met at an ice cream shop….neutral ground?
Good distraction for the kids more like it!
I wish Jen was much smarter then this. Ben is using her and the kids to fix his image and she went along with it . I hope she has someone in her life to tell her, she is better then being Ben’s pawn.
She can’t fix him and she needs to learn that, trying to fix him isn’t going to benefit their kids. Only Ben can fix himself and the truth is Ben is happy with how thing are.
‘Annoyed’. Really? She’s ‘annoyed’ it’s come out that her ex assaults women and lied about knowing of a rapists actions. Not, y’know, horrified? Or sad? Or angry?
If that’s her reaction to what’s been happening this week, whatever, fine, but how tone deaf do you have to be to think that’s something you should put out there via ‘sources’. Just stay radio silent if that’s all you have to say.
I can’t fathom looking at these pics and thinking she wants to be there. She is obviously upset and he seems to be trying to talk her down.
My heart goes out to her. Especially after reading all of the garbage spewed at her. Yeesh.
This. ^
It takes a very generous person to be able to leave your feelings aside to make sure your kids can have a healthy relationship with their father.
not much to do with generosity, you owe that to your children. it’s just fair.
I think my first comment might have been misinterpreted, Ell. I didn’t mean she was generous by encouraging a relationship between her kids and their father, I agree with you that’s what any decent parent should do. I meant more the doing stuff as family, all together, and she trying to protect his terrible image so it doesn’t get to the children. She certainly has enough reasons to not want to spend time with him and she could be trashing him in the press like many other Hollywood ex couples do, but she isn’t, even though he’s behavior has been horrible.
As for “she knew what she was getting into”… maybe. Does that give us reason to judge her? A lot of people in love fell in the trap of thinking they can change their partners. Affleck did well for a while there with Jen, he got some respect as a filmmaker and did some interesting projects before he went back to his old disgusting self. Let’s hope you never make a wrong choice in your life where tons of strangers can be bashing you online for it.
i literally never *ever* wrote she knew what she was getting into. you’re certainly not replying to me with that comment.
Their father is an alcoholic, gambling addict, workaholic who cheated on their mother, slept with their nanny and sexually assaulted multiple women.
They aren’t going to have a healthy relationship with him. You can’t have a healthy relationship with someone who is the opposite of healthy. Trying to force it and pretend it is healthy just makes it worse.
It’s not your place to determine that, and unless he’s being abusive to the kids, they have a right to have a relationship with their father. Ben Affleck might be a POS, but there’s never been any behavior from him that indicated he’s not a good father to his kids, and they are probably the one thing that kept him somewhat in line before he became a trainwreck again a couple of years ago. And I think any woman would want to send his ass far away, considering all the pain his caused Jen, but she’s still trying to keep it as normal as possible for the kids. That IS being generous, not all people going through a divorce are capable of it.
sorry but no Mina. my parents are divorced, if my mum ever told me she was being ‘generous’ in encouraging a relationship between my father and my sisters and i, i’d asked her wtf. your children are your responsibility as a parent, you’re not ‘generous’ for doing what’s expected. it’s like saying you’re generous because you feed your children.
some people have the oddest views about parenting post divorce.
There’s a lot of indications he’s not a good father to his children. There’s his own words, in which he paints himself as someone who would much rather work than be around to parent. There’s his alcoholism, and his complete lack of any real attempts to get sustained help for that, despite having every possible opportunity to do so.
And there’s the fact that, at what was already a very tumultuous time for his children, he couldn’t put them first and not screw one of their caregivers, resulting in even more upheaval for the children when she had to leave.
I think Jen is past the point of being sad, angry, or horrified with Ben. I think she is well over him and his actions. I think she is just plain annoyed at this point with him! I think she had reached her limit with him & realized she had enough! Her focus right now is protecting her children from the mess(es) Ben created! I do think she is holding him accountable where the children are concerned & making him face this with their children & not putting it all on just herself. I think that is why Samuel was not there! Fortunately, he is too young to understand any of This, but Unfortunately their girls arent.
And now a second pap stroll today, saying Ben and Jen arrived to a [presumably school] event together and left separately.
How is attending a child’s school actually a pap stroll? The paps follow them. They are there for a kid. It’s life.
paps follow very rarely. most times these things are set up, everyone knows that by now.
Thereâs no photo showing them arriving together. If they had, you can bet the paps would have it. Just more embroidery from the Fail.
Jenn also knew what she was getting herself into. Everyone has a part in it.
Blah blah blah. Jennifer knew who she married. Gwyneth said Ben was a dog. Hell Jen did what messed up control freak woman do. Get a man whose broken down, and say, â I can fix him!â Wasted 13 years of her life on this mess, had kids with him and got herself stuck. Heâs complete garbage which is why I never felt bad for Jen ever. She knew the man she married, and heâs a player and dirty jerk. Hope the kids are okay. No one needs to know their daddy is a creep.
Haha, so true!
Yep. Though Iâm not taking joy in this because there are kids involved now.
Sigh.
He’s been a douche from the beginning and yet she was making puppy eyes at him since she was married, and when he was engaged.
She is by no means responsible for his bs behaviour but she is responsible for putting a happy face on the public image of an asshole long past the point of knowing he is an asshole. That, like it or not, is enabling and shielding him by helping him present himself as a ‘family man’ when by his own words he is not that invested in his relationship with his children.
If he’s embarrassing her and their children then – at this point – it’s not just because he’s their the children’s father. She should have distanced herself publicly from him a while ago and had plenty of time and encouragement to do so.
So I side eye her for enabling and being the bullet shield on his public image for so long when he’s a gross person but not anything else, and not for his actions.
She needs to admit to herself that being attached to him is a personal priority for her. Branding herself a victim is something I’m not buying.
Also, he’s not going to change.
She has three kids with him she can never distanced herself from him fully until the very last one is a lot older. She is tied to him, whether she likes it or not for many more years til Sam is of age. All your ranting is not going to change that. Common sense would tell you she is trying to protect her kids and get through a bad situation. She cannot erase the fact that he is their father. They adore him and want to see him AND they are oblivious (Violet might suspect something is amiss but I donât think she knows a lot and the other two are too young to even grasp it or care) to what is going on so expect to do their normal things and be with him. She is being a buffer to facilitate that and I suspect very strongly using my common sense that she really doesnât give a rats ass what a bunch of gossipers are saying about it. She might care about her pr but not at the expense of her kids IMO.
She can never regret being married to Ben because to do so would mean she regrets her kids and that will never be the case. I thing she regrets not leaving him sooner though. So any negating of this is for them. IMO she cringes being around him but sucks it up for the kids.
Harveyâs wife isnât getting anywhere near the back lashing that Jen is getting and he was more of a monster than Ben. You guys just hate her and look for any reason to pounce on her BUT really in this case all the heat should be on the perpetrators. Girl power is all about women staying up for each other not bashing them. Some of you are diluting the momentum of this by dragging women into this issue who are NOT to blame for their husbands actions.
Exactly!!!!!
I agree with you @scotiagirl, But IMO “girl power” isn’t about just blindly supporting someone because they’re a woman. I’ll always support victims, whether they’re women or men, but I’m going to try to use logic and reason on a case by case basis. None of this is Jen’s fault in any way. But I do think it’s hypocritical that we’re all acting so shocked and aghast about everything coming out about Ben this week when every single one of the incidents has already been out in the world for us, the public and Jen to see for more than a decade – with the exception of the 2014 party. None of these things prevented Jen from marrying him. She’s “annoyed” now because they’re being revisited, and that’s inconvenient.
Georgina gets nothing from me. Nada and I am not blaming her for HW. I have other issues with her and some of them are about her own brand of shadiness. She’s maybe even less sympathetic than Melania.
Harvey’s wife left him and acknowledged his victims, right after he tried to claim he had her support. Whatever she knew beforehand, right now she’s showing zero interest in attempting to prop up his image or minimise his actions, so there’s not much to say.
If she goes on pap walks with him once he’s out of rehab, and uses their kids to present a happy family image, then I’ll judge her hard, but right now she’s cutting ties, as she should.
There are qualities I don’t like in people, and they are consistent for me. I felt this way about her way before this whole thing broke and this scandal hasn’t changed anything except horrify me more and feel very sorry for their children.
There are far worse things than being photographed with your messy ex and children.
After watching the video, it is clear JG didn’t set this up anyway and was not pleased about it. This is Ben’s sloppy PR move.
Men behave badly to women, and other women are blamed and attacked for those men’s gross decisions. Even by women who are proudly self-declared feminists.
No wonder we have such a problem. This is what a rape culture looks like.
These men do not respect women. They do not care what we think. We have no power in this equation, and that is the problem. The only peers whose views they would gave a damn about have testicles.
not that I wish anyone to be sexually harassed or abused in any kind of form, men and women all need to be respected equally, but for this time, just this time I kind of, sort of wish Affleck would have a disgusting and nauseating pig groping his moobs and making him feel powerless, abused and humiliated so he finally starts to understand what it feels like to be on the other side. Sadly, for men like Affleck is the only way they would ever feel empathy, because sure as hell I bet he still feels like he did nothing wrong, just like Weinstein does.
Whether it is rape or unsolicited grabbing both reflect the same vile attitude towards women: A total disregard for their humanity.
Affleck is clearly a very troubled piece of sh*t. I am also side-eyeing Matt Damon hard. He seems complicit, helping Affleck cover his disgusting behavior.
Go find the Backgrid video on you tube of this event. It gives a very different impression than the photos. He clearly set this up and she didn’t play.
I know! I lost, even more, respect for him and I thought I didn’t even have any left. He’s getting into “I actively dislike him” range now. Matt the smug can go away immediately too.
Thank you! Every woman who blamed her for the PR moves and trying to help Ben need to see that video. He sucks and she is over him hard and is pissed. Made me respect her even more.
I saw it. He was laying it on pretty thick for the paps. Even seemed to be checking to make sure they got their shots. Jen didnât look at all happy having to meet them there to pick up Seraphina.
found it….he’s the worst. so clearly staged the PDA to Garner and Violet.
Agree, his PDA to Jen seemed especially purposeful, but they’re both to blame for the stroll/location, IMO. Jen’s always held the cards when it comes to the kids, and she still does. She could easily have kept the kids out of that situation (in terms of not meeting at a public spot.)
Jojo he is still their father and legally he can take them for ice cream. Also, how do we know she knew he was taking them there? Maybe he didn’t tell her til they were there, giving her no choice? She was very upset when she arrived.
I totally believe him capable of doing that.
@Deb – Of course, he could have told her when he was already there. And she could also have said, just come to the house. There’s no way to know. I think back to right after they split when the nanny scandal blew up and was at its worst – when they were in Atlanta and then back in LA. Jen did family pap strolls with Ben right away and all through the summer/fall, where the kids were subjected to reporters screaming questions about the nanny and cheating, etc. It’s easy to forget now, but that was just as bad as this at the time. I’m not criticizing Jen alone. Ben of course uses the paps when he wants to as well – as he clearly did here. I’m just saying this is pretty consistent with what she’s done in the past in the face of major scandal. I don’t know why she’d be any different in this case, especially when none of the things that came out this week were things Jen hasn’t already known about for more than a decade (except party.)
I think the last few days have revealed he is not the worst…..
Thank you for that. She wasn’t participating with that at all – whereas he was ensuring the media got their shots. What a creep.
Thank you for sharing the video! Wow! I’ve always given him the benefit of the doubt as to being a crummy dad eventhough he seemed to drop his co-parenting BS when he wanted to parade his new romance. Suddenly, he’s hugging the kids while ordering ice cream?! Look at their reactions! Sorry but after watching that video, I am convinced he is a POS. Now I remember all the staged pap shots when nanny gate blew up – starting with that puppy he brought to Atlanta. I believe in people changing. Sadly, I think Ben loves himself above all and probably sees himself as a victim in all of this.
Jojo, you can always be counted on for a good ole “But Jen.”
You can’t see the difference between banging the Nanny and multiple allegations of sexual harassment? At what the paps might be calling out in front of the kids? Really?
Well since you threw the barb, I guess I’ll say that you can be counted on as well @LTS. I don’t have a “but Jen” in terms of Ben’s actions toward women. And obviously he has an agenda here, but that doesn’t change the fact that I think Jen could have said there’s no way I’m meeting you in public with the kids today of all days. And um, well … personally, I think “banging the nanny” is right up there with allegations of groping at a party in terms of how it affects young kids. Both are reprehensible, but having reporters screaming out stuff about their father sleeping with someone who they trusted and who took care of them every day in their own home would actually make me more uncomfortable and concerned in terms of explaining that close personal violation of trust to my kids. But that’s me.
Because Ben certainly has a history of respecting Jen’s wishes…oh wait.
I digress, you’re right. If she said no way, I’m not meeting you in public today, drop the kids off at the house, he probably would have just completely ignored that and kept them forever.
And I think she showed up because she loves her kids and wanted to protect them as much as possible from what they were being exposed to in his flagrant display of fatherly affection to override the sexual assault stories. We will have to agree to disagree. I will not mitigate Ben’s responsibility for his actions by casting greater blame on Jen for somehow having a greater responsibility to control him. I perceive that as misogynistic.
@JoJo
I think their is a difference between the PR stunts they pulled when they first split. To Ben PR stunt he pulling right now to deflect from his sexual harassment/ assault scandal.
Seriously? Now, he’s in dress slacks and a nice shirt going to church. He and Jen arrived separately.
He’s pulling out all stops, isn’t he, on the Ben Affleck damage control tour? Next stop will be going to an animal shelter and adopting a sweet abandoned dog with his children in tow — and paps. At least, he’s had to be sober for several days now.
I have to say Jen’s outfit and, gasp, non-frumpy footwear looked great on her.
Of course this ain’t her fault. I am just wondering why in hell she would continue taking her kids out on a pap stroll at a time like this. Can’t imagine how embarrassed their going to feel.