Being a parent is a full-time gig, and sometimes you just have to take the L when your kids decide to humble you. Ben Affleck, who shares kids Violet, Seraphina, and Samuel with his ex-wife Jennifer Garner, recently learned that lesson the hard way.
After sharing a funny story about his 17-year-old child trolling him for his past relationship woes, the actor found himself getting clowned on all over again.
“Actually, today, they clowned me about, like, ‘Why'd you say that was me?’” Affleck told E! News at the premiere of his upcoming film Animals on Oct. 1. He admitted that when his kid pointed out he had essentially doxxed them by mentioning their age, he realized, “They were kind of right about that.”
Despite the call-out, Affleck is highkey proud of the wit his kids have. The original anecdote involved his 17-year-old hitting him with the ultimate "is it giving expert?" energy when he tried to offer some romantic guidance.
“I was like, ‘Well, it was funny, though. My point was, you're funny, actually,’” he explained. “It's that thing where they take the piss out of you, but also it's funny, so you're kind of proud.”
He clearly isn't losing any sleep over it, adding, “The joy of life is being with children as they grow. Watching them change and become adults—it's incredible.”
Why it matters
Beyond the parent-child drama, Affleck is gearing up for the Netflix release of Animals on Oct. 9. The film, which also stars Kerry Washington, Gillian Anderson, and Steven Yeun, tackles the "performative world" of modern marriage and politics, hitting on themes of radical honesty that he says he's really proud of.
