Ben Affleck covers the new issue of Us Weekly and the cover itself, like the photo, is the initial reason why I added this to today’s site coverage because LOL FOREVER, the shot selection here is… well… look at it.
This is the kind of shot that’s meant to suggest that Ben posed for the magazine or that this is some kind of exclusive. I can guarantee you Ben Affleck did not do a photo shoot for Us Weekly. To me it looks like, from the way it’s been cut, like it might have originally been a group shot and there were other people around him at the time it was taken. Also, I know Jennifer Lopez isn’t his wife anymore but he really could have used some help from her in fixing his face in a situation where it’s not the paps taking his picture but a studio photographer who was hired to be there.
Anyway, it’s a long cover story that’s short on any real gossip or new information. I could tell you in one sentence: he’s doing great! The only interesting-ish detail here, if it’s even true, is that JLo and Jennifer Garner have stayed in touch. But I’m questioning how legit this whole thing is because Us Weekly’s sources seem sketch to me. A lot of it has to do with how these sources refer to JLo – they refer to her as “JLo”.
People in both their inner circles don’t call her JLo. They call her “Jen” or “Jennifer”. Even in junkets, which I’ve been on, after she’s worked with someone on a film, when they refer to her as “JLo” it’s for emphasis, if they’re talking about her, though, it’s “Jen”. So for me, as a student of gossip and a tabloid analyst, this is a tell. The sources are telling on themselves. Or whoever at the magazine making up these quote is telling on themselves.
But then again, Ben Affleck has a movie to sell. The Accountant 2 opens next week and through the press tour, Ben’s been bringing the most positive energy we’ve seen from him since, well, the last time he had to sell a movie. So it’s not totally impossible, I suppose, that this Us Weekly cover, as down-market as it is, supports that motivation. Not sure that’s worth the cringe of having his face awkwardly smile-grimacing while you’re checking out at the grocery store though. And I can’t imagine that wasn’t a consideration for his PR team.
Attached – Ben heading to a business meeting yesterday. I am trying to figure out what is in that cup, what are those… clumps… floating around in his drink?! (Note from Emily: It's pebble ice! The best kind of ice!)
