The Ben Affleck back tattoo saga is ongoing. First he said it was fake, then it seemed real, and now the man himself has spoken out to defend it - again.
For context, the actor was recently pictured with a massive SPRAWLING tattoo across his shoulders and spine, despite very much saying it was fake in a 2016 interview.
The public got its first glimpse of the tattoo in the summer of 2015, and though it wasn't until December that we saw it properly, Affleck later insisted the ink was temporary for a film.
"[It’s] fake for a movie," Affleck told Extra’s Mario Lopez in 2016. "I actually do have a number of tattoos but I try to have them in places where you don’t have to do a lot of cover up[s]. They get sort of addictive, tattoos, after a while."
Of course, when everyone saw it again in March 2018, it seemed pretty obvious that it is not, in fact, fake. Cue much talk of the tattoo online.
During a recent appearance on The Ellen Degeneres Show [14 March 2019] Affleck took the opportunity to defend his tattoo, and its 'meaningful sentiment to him'.
"Your back tattoo got a lot of attention", Ellen comments.
Ben responds, "Not so much positive! It's a phoenix. I was about to say it represents something really important to me!
"It's meaningful to me. I like it. It's not something I sort of kept private. The sentiment ran against... but I love my tattoo, I'm happy with it."
Back in March 2018, Ben first spoke publicly about the tattoo, after the New Yorker published an article titled “The Great Sadness of Ben Affleck," which was basically about him being lonely and sad...with a bad tattoo.
Here's a sample:
“Affleck, who is forty-five, was photographed wading into the ocean carrying a small red life preserver, running in the shallow waters, and towelling off on the beach. The tattoo — so gargantuan that the bird’s tail found itself dipping below the waistband of Affleck’s blue swim trunks — was plainly visible…His gut is pooching outward..."
Bit harsh.
Ben clearly thought so too, since he responded to the article and, in doing so, addressed the back tattoo for the first time since his original comments about it.
Aaaand his response quickly became internet gold.
Anyway, why he felt the need to lie isn't entirely clear, but let's just hope he's happy with it.
And look at it again.
