Amid all these stories of Hollywood power players being horribly abusive and predatory to women, I honestly expected to hear more about Ben Affleck. We have two videos of him behaving inappropriately with women and two women have gone on the record to say he either groped them or their friends. Of course he’s done that to more women, it seems statistically unlikely that those few incidents we’re hearing are the whole of his horrible behavior. Those type of men do it again and again and many victims don’t speak. However either those were isolated incidents in Affleck’s life or someone has been working on his behalf to ensure that more stories don’t come out. Maybe it’s a little of both, like he’s a garden level a-hole groper AND he has people who are working to quash those stories. I don’t want to make excuses for him, I’m just trying to figure out what happened.
You know who we never hear about a bad word about? You know who has rehabbed Ben’s image more than anyone? His estranged wife, Jennifer Garner. Garner is a dedicated mom, she’s an advocate for impoverished children and for childhood literacy, and she’s made Ben look better by her sheer ability to put up with so much bullsh-t from him over the years. She has some masterful PR I’ll give her that, but she also genuinely cares and it shows. People has a new interview with Garner about her work with Save The Children. Even though Affleck has a new girlfriend who seems similar to him, Garner’s goodness is somehow rubbing off him still. She just went trick or treating with him and their kids, remember? She’s still tolerating him and making him look like a better person, probably for the sake of their kids. Here’s what she told People about visiting Hurricane Harvey victims:
As an artist ambassador and trustee for Save the Children, the actress, 45, traveled to Houston in the wake of Hurricane Harvey in September and found an amazing resilience in the kids she met.
“One boy told me how his mom had put the kids in a kiddie pool in chest-high waters, and she had gone under because she couldn’t swim,” Garner tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “He’d said, ‘Throw Mama a rope!’ and saved her. Instead of saying, ‘We lost our house, all my toys are gone,’ he wanted me to know that his mom was okay. That spirit makes you really appreciate the good in the world.”
Garner was especially grateful to see Save the Children’s program, Journey of Hope, at work in the flood zone. Kids are taught how to address any trauma they might have experienced “maybe by losing their home or even a pet in the flood,” says the actress, who has worked with Save the Children—which provides relief and support for kids in rural America and developing countries—for nine years.
“It may sound like a small thing, but I’ve watched it in action. Seeing those kids talk about their feelings in a way that they never would have was the highlight of the year for me.”
For anyone wanting to help, Garner encourages just getting involved.
“Sponsor a child through Save, do a book drive, donate diapers,” says the mom of three, who was honored in PEOPLE’s 25 Women Changing the World feature last year. “Just help in some way. Be your own kind of first responder. It will restore you and your faith in humanity.”
A lot of people took this tactic after the recent tragedies around the world, particularly in Puerto Rico. People realized that the government, led by a heartless racist monster, wasn’t going to help the people suffering and dying without basic necessities and so they went to Puerto Rico and did whatever they could. Celebrities like Garner especially have money and clout, just look at the benefit concert held by Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony that raised millions. They shouldn’t have to do this with our country’s vast resources. People should be our government’s priority, but obviously the current government is work hard to deny rights to and harm Americans who aren’t just like them. It’s active neglect, it’s stripping away safety nets that are barely working as it is, and it’s horrible. Now I’m realizing I should do some volunteer work with my time. Also PLEASE VOTE on Tuesday. Whatever you do, get out and vote and make it a priority.
This is Garner reading a book to her golden retriever. The dog is not having it. She’s getting decent at Instagram, although she comes off as a little too “extra” sometimes.
photos credit: WENN, Pacific Coast News and Backgrid
The only issue with her is that she keep enabling Affleck.
PR, it gets her the publicity she craves. Normal women would never have given Ben Affleck the time of day, much less married him and had children with him.
I have to confess that I didn’t read the article. I just came here to say that her hair and face look awesome!
That’s funny, I was just thinking that she has been looking gaunt and haggard and rundown in candid pap photos lately.
I guess a lot of her photos are edited? I used to always think she had great skin. Looking at the Instagram picture vs the pap picture, she looks very different. So I guess they edit her pictures more than I realized.
It’s true. She has rough texture to her skin which came out during her early Neutrogena days. Shes also not a celeb that tries for a lap stroll which is endearing! And she’s likable.
In fact, the only real time you’ll see a poorly or less than edited photo is when they run a store about how tired or drunk or whatever storyline.
Please read the article. It’s such a positive message and needs attention
The women who came out with Affleck stories got attacked, really viciously. People made all kinds of excuses for Affleck and belittled the women’s accounts. And the press totally let it slide instead of going after him. Even the gossip sites moved swiftly onto his pap walks and his dog and house-hunting with the new GF, instead of digging in.
Ben’s still a major movie star, with a lot of friends and his America’s Sweetheart ex backing him up. In a lot of ways him going down would be a bigger deal than Weinstein, who was powerful but hated by most, or Spacey, who was respected as an actor but never exactly beloved. Ben would open the door to other A-listers, the ones headlining blockbusters and getting fluffy People covers.
Are we living in the same world? Rose McGowan’s anti- Ben and Casey tweets have been retweeted like a million times, as has Tendler’s tweet about wanting an apology. Every article that the DM prints about Ben Affleck, they mention these accusations. He’s not getting off easily and from his grim public demeanor, he knows it. We haven’t seen the dog since Rose M. tweeted about People’s “spin” article regarding it. We haven’t seen the school run stroll or the church stroll since he was called out for it all. He’s lucky that more women haven’t come forward.
Remember his grim demeanor right after the 2015 separation announcement? Then he gets blindsided by the nanny and we saw that Ben was actually happy AF with the champagne-bearing nanny. So I think this grim mood is nothing but an act. He looked positively bored and unengaged in the JL China tour until he groped Cyborg after which he just couldn’t contain his laughter and glee. I wouldn’t put anything into it. In the same breath, I’m almost positive he’s headed to NY this weekend if he’s not there now.
Oh I think Ben was feeling the heat. A month ago, he was carefree and breezing around NYC with his gf every other weekend. There was a lightness in his face. For the past month he’s been lumbering around LA with his extra large iced coffees, going to some Buddhist outpatient rehab, trying to use old PR tricks with his kids to right the ship. None of it actually worked. He’s back to looking depressed af.
He just needs to realize that most of the world thinks that he’s a bad guy and that isn’t going to change no matter how many puppies he trots out. He should just live his life and try to be happy and if that’s in NYC with his gf, then so be it. I don’t see what good he is to anyone sulking around.
Dead on, Julianna. Could not agree more.
Her IG is super extra. She clearly hired someone (or a team) to do it for her. I just think it’s funny that someone tries so hard to come across as “normal,” complete with a photographer to capture “natural” moments. I wouldn’t be surprised if she has a lighting crew.
Unlike other celebrities?
A lighting crew? The woman goes out in broad, harsh daylight with wet hair and no or barely any makeup all the time. All of a sudden now she is staging a tiny video inside her house with a lighting crew? LOL
Clearly someone is filming her for videos and taking the pics, plus editing them. The one selfie that she took was prob the only one that was totally unedited and she looked awful in it. So yeah… she’s obviously got someone working on her “candid” pics that she posts. I was being facetious about the lighting crew. RME. The pap strolls that she does in her sloppy clothes and wet hair are all part of the optics that she wants to project, so I’m not sure what point you’re trying to make there.
She is arguably a little extra but I can vouch that she was that way at age 13. (We both grew up in CRW at the same time). It’s not really a put on, it is her personality. She was twee before twee was a thing.
I don’t think she’s protecting Ben or helping him that much. He’s been around for a few milestones and the holidays per usual. He got called out in a major way for the ice cream shop stunt, and Jen looked pissed when she showed up. The times that he’s gone to church over the last month, she made sure not to be photographed with him. The Halloween outing was labeled as “tense” by most that reported it. If she really wanted to help him out, she’d be smiling broadly and playing happy co-parents. She’s not. They look miserable when they are together with the kids.
Agree. She’s stuck playing nice because she’s a good mother. He comes around when he needs good publicity but of course the kids are happy to see him she;s stuck. Violet in particular seems to dote on him. And not seeing huge ego because her IG gives her decent lighting. Considering all the candids we rip her apart for, she’s incredibly low maintenance.
Eh, they looked perfectly happy/comfortable with each other at two recent school events, and at one of them, she was even beaming up at him as they left. The DM was the only outlet that reported a “tense” Halloween outing – typical click bait. The pictures just looked like she was tired/rushed since that was already her second trick or treating outing of the day. I think people like to invent a “tension” narrative, but my guess is that they’re still relatively close. Some days she’s smiling at him, others she isn’t. Can’t infer much from that.
I want that room to read in.
On Affleck I imagine WB has been writing necessary checks (or making Affleck do it) with Justice League about to open. It might be possible to keep things quiet if it was “just” groping. Ugh. But his reputation took a hit no doubt.
I think Garner is likely quite nice but she’s manipulative too (no shame in that in showbiz). Plus I hope she’s in extensive therapy to understand why she agreed to be this guy’s doormat and “mommy” for a decade.
I have no interest in Garner as an actress but I’ll give her this: Her hustle to stay relevant now that she’s no longer an A-list performer or wife is impressive. I’m not being sarcastic. Way to sell, sell, sell girl!
She does not appear particularly happy or forgiving in the pic with the beige sweater. She looks tired and unhappy to me. I hope she’s unhappy cause her ex-husband came by to do Halloween with the children, cause she cannot think he’s a good role model for any of the children at this time (actively wallowing in his addictions).
I think alot of money has been doled out over the years to people to sign Non Disclosure agreements regarding Ben. And I bet the people have been contacted to remind them of the terms of that agreement and pay back of the money if they violate that agreement. Hell they were probably offered top up bonus on top of what they all ready got just to sweeten the deal.
I too am really surpised at how few people have come forward on Ben, I expected the floodgates to open and a Tiger Woods like fiasco to come out. I think its there, it just has not come out. His team must be workinf feverishly to keep the gates from busting open.
Tara – if you read the celebrity sites – they all love Jen’s IG account and think she is acing it. Maybe your just a little too cynical?
As far as I know, all of Tiger’s affairs were consentual, no? I think there’s a real danger trying to compare rapists to cheaters. Not even sort of the same thing.
Sites like US weekly that draft articles out of Jen’s instagram posts are being prompted by her PR. Her team is actively trying to get word out that she’s on social media.
Isn’t that what PR teams are hired to do? To get recognition for their clients? Seems to me if that is the case, they are doing their jobs. Have you read the comments by the average joes to her posts?
You were acting like Us, ET etc love her IG *so much* that they took it upon themselves to write something about it. Her PR writes the articles, the sites post them. I would expect that the people who post comments on an IG that they follow would be positive. That’s why they’re following her. She only has like 600k followers despite all this rabid promotion.
Regarding Ben… I don’t know, I feel like the public will differentiate between grabbing someone’s boobs and forcible rape. Yes, both assault, yes both disgusting and beyond the pale… But I just don’t see him getting his just desserts. There are women coming forward about being raped by Harvey, and boys by Kevin. An MTV VJ getting her boobs grabbed 15 years ago isn’t going to register. On any given day at a trashy Hollywood party, I imagine that’s just part of cocktail hour. That’s a bit of the danger of having all of this come out at once. A lot of scumbags will fall through the cracks. Taylor Swift’s case, just earlier this year, would be a passing headline now.
While I agree that what he has been accused of isn’t as bad as others, he’s being lumped into the Hollywood Harassers club anyway. People seem to HATE his guts! Doesn’t matter how long ago he grabbed someone’s breast or that no other women have come forward (yet). I think a lot of people look for reasons not to like him and he makes it SO easy and provides ample ammunition.
There was an article recently that never made it to mainstream media, In it, it stated that buried in Rose’s NYT and THR reports was the fact that Ben was made aware of her rape almost immediately after it happened. Hmmm, I actually think complicity in this situation is not something to be considered “not serious”. In any case, WB appears to be heavily controlling the situation. JL is coming out soon and there is no way they are going to allow any more leaks to affect their box office receipts.
Garner is clearly at 100mph trying to re-brand herself. I don’t think she’s helping Ben’s PR at all and I think she’s trying to distance herself from him and his stink. He’s out house shopping with his gf so it’s not like he’s trying to benefit from Jen’s spinning. She’ll never be able to get rid of him entirely — he’s still her kids’ dad. Both of them taking the kids trick-or-treating is on par with how they’ve handled holidays in the past, and I don’t really understand why people still make such a big deal out of it. I’m sure in a few weeks we’ll get a blurb about how they co-parented through Thanksgiving and then a few weeks after that, another one about xmas in Montana. Hopefully drunkaholic Ben won’t require rehab or a detox nurse after his “fun family” holiday like he has the past two years. Funny how a relaxing luxury vacation with his family and away from the paps sends him straight to the bottle. I noticed that he took his Buddhist sober companion with him to China for JL promos. LOL. Will she get to go to Montana, too? He’s such a loser.
I don’t think she’s enabling him now. Before Ben’s ice cream shop show, she let E! know that she was annoyed of the extra attention on the kids his scandals have caused. And she didn’t play with him at all when he tried that photo op with her when she arrived. The videos are very telling. But at the end of the day, she seems to put her children first and if that means they have to spend time with the dad (who has shown a sudden interest in public outings with the kids after his summer romance parade) then she makes sure she’s there to “supervise” when she can. Just watch the video when daddy doofus decided to bring them to church, to Ben’s surprise somebody picked them up right after service outside church. Jen was at the girl’s scout trip with Sera at the zoo at that time.
Come to think of it, she’s not there to supervise. She’s there because she’s just there all the time. He just decided to tag along now. He certainly wasn’t there at last year’s trick or treat. Not there at all during his “summer romance parade”. When was the last time he was in church? Dropping off the kids and flipping the paps off (how classy) is not part of my count.
Her very first instagram account was filmed by somebody else obviously and edited. I don’t think she ever came out and said “look at my candid shots”…She’s building a brand, based on her image of a hands-on mother, and I don’t see anything wrong with that. She certainly walks the talk. She’s out there almost daily with her kids instead of being a drive-by/drop-in parent as and when it suits her. And she continually hustles for Save the Children. Why do people pick on someone who is using their social media/image for pushing out a good message?
“Why do people pick on someone who is using their social media/image for pushing out a good message?”
Beats me, when there are so many who are worthy of disdain. As a retired high school librarian I appreciate her promotion of childhood literacy. I like the fact that she posted a picture of her elementary school librarian and praised her for her work.
Although I’m not a fan of her acting, I believe she is genuinely committed to her various causes – such as Save the Children – and probably does a lot more than what is made public. Until recently I bought into that real, “au naturel”, wholesome, image she cultivated for so long. I don’t know if it’s a mere coincidence, but the implants became obvious to me sometime around the time of the split.