Ben Affleck admitted he used to have compassion for Britney Spears when paparazzi harassed her during a difficult time.
“A long time ago, years and years ago, I really had a lot of empathy for Britney Spears,” the “Argo” star recently said on the “This Past Weekend With Theo Von” podcast.
“Because I remember it seemed like … these people are following her around in a time where she may or may not have been having difficulty.”
Affleck, 52, clarified he was only speculating that Spears, 43, may have been struggling when paparazzi were following her around during the unspecified period of time.
“I don’t know because I don’t know her,” he said. “But I do know that the cycle of having people harangue you and yell at you and hassle you and follow you. It seemed like that itself was kind of whipping up the whole thing into a tizzy.”
“That’s the first time I thought this is kind of a weird, unintentional — I think culturally — but kind of collective cruelty where what’s taken out of the image that you see are the people around waving the stick at the tiger or poking on it,” the actor added.
Affleck explained that the photos taken of celebrities appearing annoyed are the result of them being agitated by photographers “poking” at them.
“All you see is the growling animal,” he said.
While the “Gone Girl” star didn’t specify exactly when he felt bad for Spears, he may have been referring to the time around the pop star’s 2007 breakdown when she shaved her head.
In 2008, the “Toxic” songstress was subjected to mental health evaluations and psychiatric holds after she allegedly locked herself in the bathroom with her and her ex-husband Kevin Federline’s two kids amid a custody dispute.
Spears was then put into a conservatorship in October of that year, which officially ended in 2021.
Affleck, meanwhile, insisted that he didn’t know Spears after she claimed to have made out with him “years ago.”
“Cool pic of me and Ben Affleck and Diane Warren years ago 😂😂 !!!” the “Circus” singer wrote on Instagram in February 2024 alongside a photo from 1999.
“He’s such an amazing actor. Did I fail to mention I made out with Ben that night … I honestly forgot … damn that’s crazy!!!”
Affleck later dodged a question about the alleged makeout session when pressed by a paparazzi.
