Ben Affleck lashes out at paparazzi for putting daughter in danger
Ben Affleck finally lost his cool with the paparazzi Sunday night, accusing them of putting him and his daughter in danger with their camera flashes, after more than a month of photographers following him and his family around to document the reported breakdown of his marriage to Jennifer Lopez.
Affleck was captured on video Sunday confronting photographers who he said blinded him with their flashes on a dark night as he was leaving the $60 million estate in Beverly Hills that he and Lopez purchased together last year and shared up until recently, when he reportedly moved out.
Video published by TMZ showed Affleck racing out of the estate’s long, dark driveway in a luxury sedan, amid camera flashes. The “Argo” actor could be seen turning his car onto the street, then abruptly stopping by a dumpster, backing up and exiting the car.
“Don’t flash your light in somebody’s eyes,” a T-shirt-clad Affleck said, while approaching a photographer nearest the estate. “Don’t do that! It’s dangerous!”
Affleck then approached several photographers on the other side of the street, again saying, “Stop! It’s dangerous what you guys are doing! I can’t see! You’re going to get somebody hurt doing this (expletive)!”
Affleck began to walk to his car, then stopped, turned around and walked towards the photographers again, saying, “My daughter’s coming down here. If you flash the lights on her, you’re putting her in danger.”
“Do you understand that?” Affleck asked.
When one of the photographers can be heard saying, “Understand that,” Affleck returned to his car, got back in and started to drive off.
It’s not known which daughter Affleck was referring to, but only one, 18-year-old Violet, who recently graduated from high school, is old enough to have her driver’s license. Affleck also shares children Seraphina, 15, and Samuel, 12, with ex-wife Jennifer Garner.
It’s also not known what Affleck and his daughter were doing at the Beverly Hills estate, since he no longer lives there. The father and daughter could not have been visiting Lopez, who is currently in Paris and who was in Italy last week. Affleck and Lopez also have been put the mega-mansion up for sale.
But Affleck’s confrontation with photographers comes after more than a month of him being followed pretty much everywhere he goes around Los Angeles.
Paparazzi in fact helped break the story of marital troubles between him and Lopez by taking photos of the actor and director leaving a $100,000-a-month home in Brentwood that he’s been staying in the past month. Photographers also have been present as Affleck has paid visits to the Beverly Hills mansion and as he and Lopez have tried to keep up the appearance of family unity by attending graduations and other school-related events for Affleck’s children.
On Saturday night, photographers also snapped photos of Affleck and Violet going to dinner together at a noodle restaurant in Los Angeles. Entertainment Tonight reported that Affleck wasn’t wearing his wedding ring, though he was spotted wearing the ring on Sunday, when he went to his office.
In a recent interview, Affleck discussed his difficult relationship with paparazzi with actor and comedian Kevin Hart, the New York Daily News reported. In an episode of Hart’s “Hart to Heart” podcast, Affleck admitted he’s “a little big shy” and doesn’t “like a lot of attention,” which he said explains why he always looks mad in photos.
“Because somebody has their camera and sticks it in my face and I’m like, ‘OK, here we go,’” Affleck said. But he insisted that he usually “doesn’t give a (expletive)” if he’s photographed by himself or while attending an event. But he said he gets upset when photographers snap images of him while he’s with his family.
“Actually, what I’d like to do is much more definitive than just look at you like this,” he said. “I don’t mind; you can take my picture at a club or a premiere, with my wife … Knock yourself out. I don’t notice you. But with my children, that’s a different thing.”