TV host Sarah Ferguson has labeled Ben Affleck as one of her worst interview experiences, a year after their conversation about his film “Air” on Australia’s ‘7.30’ show.
In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Ferguson described Affleck’s behavior as “rude” and “not interested.” She noted that during the March 2023 interview, Affleck seemed disengaged, simply “going through the motions,” which landed him “high up on the list” of her least favorite interviewees.
Throughout the interview, Affleck maintained a serious demeanor and rarely smiled. Only four of his responses were aired, and he frequently avoided eye contact with the camera. “He was just rude, not interested, going through the motions,” Ferguson reiterated.
Affleck’s response to a question about how “Air” evolved into a story about Michael Jordan’s family was particularly perplexing. “It happened by my looking at the story and thinking initially, you know, knowing a little bit how these companies work, and knowing about, you know, knowing by instinct it wasn’t only white people who worked at this company who were relevant to the story,” he explained.
In a related incident last year, Affleck compared giving interviews to navigating “land mines” while promoting “Air” in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. He addressed his absence from Instagram, unlike his partner Jennifer Lopez. “She thinks that because of experiences that I’ve had, I’ve become very guarded. And she’s right. I view these things as land mines, where if you say one wrong thing, your career might be over,” Affleck said.
Affleck recalled a painful interview experience where his vulnerability was misrepresented. “I had a really painful experience where I did an interview where I was really vulnerable, and the entire pickup was something that was not only not right, it was actually the opposite of what I meant,” he noted, referring to his 2021 interview on “The Howard Stern Show.”
Meanwhile, TMZ reports that Affleck and Lopez are not on speaking terms amid ongoing divorce rumors. Sources indicate that their no-contact phase is slowing down divorce proceedings.