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Ben Affleck Blames Media For Making His Jennifer Garner Comments Look 'Insensitive'

Ben Affleck accused news outlets of reducing his two-hour interview with Howard Stern to out-of-context comments that made him out to be the “worst, most insensitive, stupid, awful guy.” (Watch the video below.)

Affleck went on the defensive on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” Wednesday night after many interpreted his comments to Stern as blaming his ex-wife, Jennifer Garner, and their marriage for his drinking.

Affleck, who has entered rehab for alcoholism multiple times over his acting career, told Stern he’d still be struggling to get sober if he had remained in a marriage to Garner “that didn’t work.”

“I’d probably still be drinking,” he said in a clip shared by Access. “Part of why I started drinking alcohol was because I was trapped.”

“The Tender Bar” star told host Jimmy Kimmel his comments were actually part of a heartfelt interview with Stern about how he and Garner respect each other and do their best to take care of their three kids.

But news stories about the interview, he complained, “distilled” his remarks and misrepresented him for clickbait.

“It’s exactly the opposite of who I am,” he griped.

“I would never want my kids to ever believe I would say a bad word about their mom,” he said.

His late night TV appearance came as fans assailed his comments to Stern.

Among the widely shared passages: “The truth was we took our time, we made the decision ... we grew apart. We had a marriage that didn’t work. This happens. She’s somebody I love and respect but to whom I shouldn’t be married to any longer. ... Ultimately we tried, we tried, we tried, because we had kids.”

Most of the heat fell on his more sensational revelations.

“I was like ’I can’t leave ’cause of my kids, but I’m not happy, what do I do?” he said, per People. “What I did was drink a bottle of scotch and fall asleep on the couch, which turned out not to be the solution.”

“The Howard Stern Show” had yet to post the Tuesday interview to its YouTube channel as of Thursday morning. Reps for Garner haven’t responded to HuffPost’s request for comment.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.

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