Sure, Ben Affleck may have initially lied about his gargantuan post-breakup tattoo. But, as he explained to The New York Times, he feels his fib was justified.
“I resented that somebody got a picture of it by spying on me,” Affleck told the Times in a candid interview published Tuesday. The “Way Back” actor was referring to the instantly famous paparazzi shot of his colorful back ink ― a phoenix taking flight ― which the actor obtained during his divorce from Jennifer Garner.
“It felt invasive. But you’re right. I could have said, ‘That’s none of your business.’ I guess I got a kick out of messing with Extra. ‘Is your tattoo real or not real?’ Of course, it’s real! No, I put a fake tattoo on my back and then hid it,” Affleck continued, referencing a March 2016 interview with Extra’s Mario Lopez.
DeGeneres jokingly said that the tattoo was a phoenix “rising from your ass.”
But Affleck stood by his body art, telling her that it “represents something important to me.”