Ben Affleck Slammed for Claiming He Wouldn't Be Sober if He Didn't Divorce Jennifer Garner

Actor Ben Affleck was slammed for telling Howard Stern on Tuesday that he would “still be drinking” if he didn’t divorce his ex-wife, actress Jennifer Garner, and that he felt “trapped” in their marriage.

“Part of why I started drinking was because I was trapped,” Affleck said of his marriage with Garner during an appearance on The Howard Stern Show on Tuesday, according to a report by Daily Mail.

“I was like, ‘I can’t leave because of my kids, but I’m not happy, what do I do?’ And what I did was [I] drank a bottle of scotch and fell asleep on the couch, which turned out not to be the solution,” the Good Will Hunting star added.

Affleck said that he “probably still would’ve been drinking” if he hadn’t separated from Garner in 2015.

The actor’s comments sparked major backlash on social media, where users accused Affleck of trying to “blame” his alcohol issue on Garner, who was pictured driving Affleck to rehab in 2018.

“You blame your ex wife for drinking? You were a drunk before you married her!” one Twitter user exclaimed. “Speaking poorly about the mother of your children pretty much makes to a terrible father and a total dickhead!”

“@BenAffleck Sounds like your blaming your ex-wife for your drinking! Scumbag!” another wrote.

Ben Affleck: I would’ve ‘still’ been drinking if I stayed married to Jennifer Garner
Jennifer Garner: *helps him to rehab 3 full years after they’ve already separated * pic.twitter.com/9StRYJ7tWI

— Cecily (@chicagobonjour) December 14, 2021

“You’re a dickhead,” another Twitter user said. “Even if that’s the case about unhappiness in you marriage why would you drag your ex through the mud publicly and seemingly blame that situation for your own self destructive choices.”

I was rooting for Ben Affleck but to blame his drinking on his marriage to Jennifer Garner is so silly. She dried his ass out multiple times! After they broke up even. Mmmmm. He best take himself to a meeting or something.

— roxane gay (@rgay) December 15, 2021

“@BenAffleck you are an ASSHOLE with NO CLASS. Hope your kids stop speaking to you for good because you truly aren’t good enough for them,” another Twitter user wrote.

“how was it possible for him to still feel trapped after the divorce since he had Jennifer Garner drive him to rehab?” another asked. “@BenAffleck is lower than pond scum. Real pathetic excuse of a human.”

“When you can’t accept that your drinking problem is because of you, you still have a drinking problem,” another tweeted. “Jennifer Garner didn’t drive Ben Affleck to drink, she did however drive him to rehab probably saving his life.”

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases