Ben Affleck knows that being in the spotlight can be exhausting.
While detailing his own experience with being followed by paparazzi over the years, the Good Will Hunting star explained why he has so much compassion for stars like Britney Spears, who have dealt with intense photographers not respecting their boundaries.
“Years and years ago, I really had a lot of empathy for Britney Spears,” Affleck, 52, explained in an April 24 episode of Theo Vonn’s This Past Weekend podcast. “[She’s] not someone I knew or hung out with, but just like everybody else, you see all this s–t that comes through. But having had my own experiences, I knew these are people who are following her around at a time where she may or may not have been having difficulty.”
Affleck then described the media scrutiny the “Toxic” singer went through during the late aughts as “poking a stick” at someone until they become a “growling animal.” Indeed, some of Spears’ most private moments have been captured by the paparazzi, including when she infamously shaved her head in 2007. At the time, she was in the middle of her divorce from Kevin Federline and custody battle over their sons Sean, 19, and Jayden, 18.
The Gone Girl actor—who shares kids Violet, 19, Seraphina, 16, and Samuel, 13, with ex-wife Jennifer Garner—noticed those invasive photos painted Spears in a certain light in the media, and he realized how quickly a certain narrative can start.
In fact, he’s dealt with this perception in the past, with him often accused of being angry because the paparazzi always caught him looking agitated.
“I’m usually with my kids trying to go somewhere and then there’s four guys going, ‘Hey, hey!’ And I’m like, ‘Hey, man. Can you give me some time? Do you mind?’” he joked about the viral “Sad Affleck” meme. “It’s this selective experience of taking a picture of somebody everytime they’re feeling irritated, they’re going to look irritated.”
Plus, his expression comes out that way simply because he’s “shy.”
“I don’t really like to do big social events or go out much,” the Oscar winner continued. “I don’t want people looking at me, [and with] my family, my kids, my life—I wish that were more private. But I [also] really like making movies and telling those stories. The truth is, I always knew that that was kind of part of it.”
Keep reading to see Affleck’s career over the years…
