I’m sorry, the headline “Why Ben Affleck Entered Rehab for the Third Time” is some insulting shit. I’ll save you a click: It’s the same reason as the first two times. He’s battling an addiction, and it’s not going well. Only a third of alcoholics “fully recover” from the disease. This isn’t hard to understand.
1. This isn’t Batman. This is an actor who plays Batman.
2. This is an ill person, seeking treatment for their condition.
3. That is a positive story. Someone admitting a health problem, getting the help they need. Stop the shaming.
4. Stop stigmatising mental illness. pic.twitter.com/MlcKH6vr5P— Matt Haig (@matthaig1) August 24, 2018
There are so many positive and useful facts in the Ben Affleck story. His admission of a problem. The caring involvement of Jennifer Garner. The new treatment he’s trying. But the tabloids are still going with the old meltdown-and-shame judgemental schadenfreude. It’s 2018, guys.
— Matt Haig (@matthaig1) August 24, 2018
https://twitter.com/MilesKlee/status/1032684930004701185
The last major media cycle about celebrity addiction, surrounding singer Demi Lovato’s near-fatal drug overdose, was as invasive as any other — but the stories tended to foreground how supportive fans were in this dark time. Affleck, both because he’s understood to be a bit of a dirtbag (he had an affair with the nanny, was hit with a #MeToo accusation, etc.) and his off-screen image has become fodder for miserabilist memes (whether he’s staring at the ocean, smoking or experiencing Batman-related depression), apparently doesn’t deserve the same empathy. It’s gross, and it shows how unwilling we are to understand substance abuse — or kill the stigma around it.
I'd love to be Ben Affleck… 3rd stint in rehab, being driven there by a lovely ex-wife, after having partied all week with a 22yr old Playboy model, after having just broken up with a beautiful TV producer. Where was that job advertised?
— Kelvin MacKenzie (@kelvmackenzie) August 23, 2018
"On Aug. 13, the Oscar winner had been seen leaving an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting."
Can we talk about this? This is not ok. Ben Affleck is a celebrity, yes, but when paparazzi follow people to AA meetings it destroys anonymity and put other members of the fellowship at risk.
— Courtney Lewis (@TinaLikesBooks) August 23, 2018
For celeb tabloid standards, the photos of Jennifer Garner driving Ben Affleck to rehab while he's crying in the back are nothing short of iconic I'm soz. The fact they went to the drive thru on the way is really just the cherry on top.
— Stella Jade (@mermaidajade) August 23, 2018
I’m not sure how Affleck’s access to a luxury Malibu rehab center, interest in a Playboy model or apparent love of Jack in the Box are invitations to mock the pain he finds himself in. However messy his personal life, Affleck — unlike other men — hasn’t blamed his bad behavior on drinking. He’s faced up to this chronic problem more than once, which is often necessary to overcome it: Relapse isn’t a sign of failure, and the standard recovery programs are far from bulletproof. Why kick a guy when he’s this low just because he starred in Gigli? Aren’t you busy making fun of Pete Davidson these days anyway? Yes, poor addicts lack the resources to battle their condition the way Affleck can — but he has to do it with the paparazzi dogging his every move. That must be agony.
I know Ben Affleck is an easy target for all sorts of reasons, but it really sucks being an alcoholic, and it must be a whole different level of suck to have your progress and backsliding covered internationally.
— Matt Zoller Scythe (@mattzollerseitz) August 23, 2018
Maybe I’m taking this personally since I also drink too much, or as I project enough beardy sorrow that a Lyft driver in L.A. made me take a selfie with him so he could tell his wife he gave a ride to Ben Affleck. (I don’t note any striking resemblance besides being large and white and seeming to struggle through existence.) I just know that all the money in the world doesn’t make another stab at sobriety any easier, and any level of fame means people will all but cheer to see you fuck up yet again. Would Affleck give you a hard time for trying to get healthy? No! Didn’t you enjoy Gone Girl? Sort of!
So maybe lay off the guy for a week.
Ben Affleck said to me, "Finish those scripts, I believe in you." and that is all the affirmation I've ever needed pic.twitter.com/HL1RBGhB7t
— emily (@emilyyy_woxland) April 7, 2018
Awesome meeting you, Emily https://t.co/OOlwbCd4cR
— Ben Affleck (@BenAffleck) April 9, 2018
Boxed up 15,000 meals with Rise Against Hunger today. Learn ways to get involved: https://t.co/1nUQkxhHEi @Rise2030 pic.twitter.com/3eS9oswSWh
— Ben Affleck (@BenAffleck) May 7, 2018
Anyway, you get the idea — and if you were about to detox while eating nothing but brown rice for a month, you’d want to stop for a burger beforehand, too. Jennifer Garner deserves great respect for helping him, and Affleck deserves credit for accepting help at all. It’s an extremely vulnerable decision to make in a society where men are supposed to demonstrate a stoic self-mastery at every turn.
Miles Klee
Miles Klee is MEL’s resident tank-top dirtbag, shitposter and meme expert. He’s also the author of the novel ‘Ivyland’ and a story collection, ‘True False.’
