Ben Affleck is making sure his kids know the importance of working for what you want.
The actor/director is doubling down on comments he made in a viral video of him and his 13-year-old son, Samuel, at a sneaker convention last week.
The video shows Samuel eyeing a pair of Dior Air Force 1s, which come with a price tag of $6,000. Upon seeing the hefty cost, Ben says, "That's a lot of lawns you gotta mow there," adding that his son only wanted them because they were expensive. Samuel responded with, "No, they're tough! I always said they look good."
Affleck was at South by Southwest for the premiere of his latest film, The Accountant 2, where he spoke to Access Hollywood and was asked if his son had started making progress on his lawn mowing venture to save up for the new shoes.
"That's what happens when you tell a mother****** they have to mow a lawn," he said. "All of a sudden they don't want those shoes."
In a joking manner, he asked the reporter if she had any kids, going on to say, "It's always some grift, I'm like, 'Man, you do not need $1,000 shoes.' like, 'We have the money.' I'm like, 'I have the money, you're broke.'"
According to Forbes, Affleck, as recently as 2020, earns as much as $55 million a year. Despite having money now, Affleck still remembers the struggle to pay the bills as a young actor. He and his childhood friend, Matt Damon, shared a joint bank account when they were first starting out.
Affleck shares custody of Samuel and his two daughters, Seraphina, 16, and Violet, 19, with his ex-wife, actress Jennifer Garner.
In an interview with Good Morning America in February 2020, Affleck expressed his appreciation for Garner. "When you have children with somebody, you're connected with them forever," he said. "And I'm very lucky she is the mother of my children. I'm very grateful and respectful of her. Our marriage didn't work, and that's difficult. Both of us really believe that it's important for kids to see their parents respect one another and get along, whether they're together or not."
While Affleck's love life has been publicly known, he has consistently been open about the affection he has for his children. In a 2023 interview on The Drew Barrymore Show, Affleck was asked about a moment he wants to live again, to which he responded, "There's so many things, the birth of my children, all the things that I've done with my kids. It's just the joy of life, it's the heart of life." ~Ryan Donahue
Glad he didn't buy the runners. Thee are more than enough over-entitled kids out there who have parents who would've bought the runner. Good on you, Ben. And get mowing the lawn kid. And do the neighbours,, too.