10 Most Controversial  Ben Affleck’s Moments: Blackjack Scandal, Inappropriate Touch With Hilarie Burton

Ben Affleck’s Hotbed of Controversy Over the Years

Since he and his friend and fellow actor Matt Damon rose to fame in the 1990s, Ben Affleck has had a prosperous acting career. Thanks to their work in Good Will Hunting, the duo became famous as the golden boys of Hollywood. With almost 80 film credits to his name, Affleck has garnered several honors, including three Golden Globes. At least until Ben Affleck's contentious private life became the center of attention, rather than his films or acting roles. From his relationships with Gwyneth Paltrow to Jennifer Lopez and Jennifer Garner, the actor's romantic life has been a hotbed of controversy over the years owing to several accusations of infidelity.

1. Ben Affleck Touched Hilarie Burton Inappropriately

Years ago, Ben Affleck made an appearance on 'Total Request Live' on MTV and groped Hilarie Burton. In 2017, when Harvey Weinstein was found guilty of sexually abusing many women, the #MeToo movement spread throughout Hollywood, and Ben Affleck was one of many who spoke out. But one Twitter user brought attention to an interview he had with Total Request Live, during which he allegedly groped presenter and actress Hilarie Burton's breasts. Burton was a co-host on while the show was in its heyday (from 2000 until 2008, when it was resurrected). He later apologized for his behavior and shared on Twitter, "I acted inappropriately toward Ms. Burton and I sincerely apologize."

2. Ben Affleck's Alcohol Use History Is Complicated

In a 2021 open interview, Ben Affleck discussed his drinking addiction and ongoing treatment with The Hollywood Reporter's 'Awards Chatter' podcast. Alcohol addiction is highly common in Hollywood, according to the actor and producer, who described it as 'the most ordinary thing.' He added, "If you knew how many actors and directors and writers were alcoholics or compulsive in some way — I mean, it’s the most ordinary thing in the world in Hollywood." Even though he made an attempt to give up alcohol when he was 24, he had to go through a 30-day treatment program in 2001 as a result of his alcoholism.

3. Ben Affleck Made Startling Remarks Regarding Jennifer Garner

2015 saw the end of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner's almost 13-year marriage. When Ben Affleck appeared on The Howard Stern Show in 2021, years later, he offended fans with remarks he made about his ex-wife. The actor said that if he had stayed married to the mother of his children, he would still be fighting alcoholism. He said on the show at the time, "That was part of why I started drinking alcohol; I was trapped. I was like, ‘I can’t leave because of my kids, but I am not happy. What do I do?’ What I did was drink a bottle of scotch on the couch, which turned out not to be the solution."

4. Ben Affleck Faced Homophobic Allegations

Ben Affleck has been in hot water on many occasions due to his candor in interviews. In the 1997 film Chasing Amy, Affleck and Jason Lee recorded a kissing scene. During an LGBT film festival celebrating Chasing Amy's 20th anniversary, director Kevin Smith said that Ben had first been hesitant to kiss another guy. As per Smith, Affleck told him, "A man kissing another man is the greatest acting challenge an actor can ever face." Later Affleck told ET in an interview, "I’m not homophobic… I guess I am, more than I thought, in that, you know, it was just difficult for me, and I didn’t think it would be."

5. His Family History Revealed

PBS's Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr. told the audience that Affleck's ancestors had owned slaves in the past. Affleck requested that his ancestry be concealed for the program, according to emails that were obtained by The Daily Mail. Affleck eventually acknowledged that he had asked Gates Jr. to completely erase the racist and enslaving history of his family from the final cut. Affleck's celebrity status was damaged by the response he got from his millions of fans in this dispute. "I didn't want any television show about my family to include a guy who enslaved people," Affleck said in a Facebook post defending his actions. 

6. Affleck Betrayed Jennifer Lopez

Ben Affleck made headlines for all the wrong reasons while his career and relationship with Jennifer Lopez were at their peak. It has been rumored that Affleck cheated on J. Lo when they were engaged in 2003 while he was in Canada shooting a movie. Affleck reportedly had a fun night at Brandi's Exotic Nightclub in Vancouver with a few of dancers, according to The Daily Mail. One of the dancers said, "It's a night I'll never forget, and I'm sure one he'll want to forget." She also said that before Affleck's buddy Christian Slater took them back to his house, where they had more fun with the celebrity, the actor offered them enormous gratuities to keep his antics between them.

7. Affleck Had Another Awkward Interview With a Star From Canada

In an interview promoting Jersey Girl with Canadian TV personality Anne-Marie Losique, Affleck had a similar contentious moment to that of his interview with Burton a year before. "You usually show a lot more cleavage than this. What's the story? They would like the show better if you did it topless, wouldn't they?" Affleck questioned before bringing Losique onto his lap. Additionally, he named them two enormous stones and caressed the interviewer's chest once. The video was purportedly taken out of context, but Losique supported Affleck when it emerged more than ten years later.

8. Affleck allegedly destroyed his marriage to Jennifer Garner

Years after their breakup in 2015 due to Affleck's nanny controversy, Garner filed for divorce in April 2017. After a year, they concluded their divorce. Around the time he and Garner split up, the actor allegedly started seeing Christine Ouzounian, the family's former nanny. One source told Radar Online at the time, "Jennifer was furious when she found out they were talking when the kids weren't involved. He admitted that they did have a meeting and that there was texting, an email relationship and a couple of phone calls, too. That set Jennifer off, and that's when the nanny got sent packing."

9. He Allegedly Made Advances on John Mulaney’s Former Spouse

Actor Ben Affleck was also accused of groping Annamarie Tendler, who was married to comedian John Mulaney. She wrote on Twitter, "I would also love to get an apology from Ben Affleck who grabbed my ass at a Golden Globes party in 2014." Tendler's tweet was in response to Affleck's 45-year-old apology to actress Hilarie Burton for what she considered to be "inappropriate" behavior toward her in 2003 when she was hosting MTV's TRL. As reported by People, she wrote at the time, "He walked by me, cupped my butt and pressed his finger into my crack. I guess he tried to play it like he was politely moving me out of the way and oops touched my butt instead of my lower back?"

10. Blackjack Scandal

Ben Affleck was permanently barred from playing blackjack at the Hard Rock Cafe in Vegas, according to The New York Post. He was discovered counting cards by security, a source told the magazine. The source told the publication, "He was there with Jen on Tuesday night for a romantic break before he headed off to Detroit to shoot ‘Batman’. He was playing blackjack at a high-rollers table on Tuesday and was doing pretty well. He is really smart and a great blackjack player. Managers approached Ben and told him, ‘You are playing too well. You are going to have to stop playing blackjack. You can play any other game at the Hard Rock, but you are banned from playing blackjack in our casino."