Ben Affleck reveals he has ’empathy’ for Britney Spears after singer’s previous claims they once ‘made out’

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By JACQUELINE LINDENBERG FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Ben Affleck revealed that he has ’empathy’ for Britney Spears during a candid chat about fame and living life in the spotlight. 

The Oscar winner, 52 – who is ready to date ‘someone new’ following his divorce from Jennifer Lopez – opened up about the topic during a recent appearance on the podcast This Past Weekend With Theo Von. 

‘A long time ago, years and years ago, I really had a lot of empathy for Britney Spears. Because I remember it seemed like – I mean it’s not somebody I knew, or hung out with but just like everybody else, you see all this s*** that comes through. 

‘But having had my own experience myself, I knew that these are people who are following her around in a time where she may or may not have been having difficulty – I don’t know because I don’t know her.’ 

Affleck continued, ‘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.’ 

The actor could possibly be referencing to the singer’s 2008 breakdown – not long after she shaved her head at a hair salon. She was soon placed under a 13-year conservatorship which ended in 2021. 

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Ben Affleck, 52, revealed that he has ’empathy’ for Britney Spears during a candid chat about fame and living life in the spotlight

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‘A long time ago, years and years ago, I really had a lot of empathy for Britney Spears. Because I remember it seemed like – I mean it’s not somebody I knew, or hung out with but just like everybody else, you see all this s*** that comes through,’ Ben stated 

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Ben added, ‘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 whatever. 

‘And all you see is the growling animal or whatever it is, but like a part of that is because somebody is coming around hitting on it to make it get active.’ 

The Accountant 2 star continued, ‘And that’s where you think, well okay, this isn’t really news. It’s not even real. It’s not what would be happening if this effect wasn’t taking place. 

‘And that’s where I thought, okay, the sort of wise thing to do is just maintain one’s perspective and try to remove yourself a little bit.’  

His comments come one year after Spears made claims that she had ‘made out’ with Ben years earlier. 

Back in February 2024, the Baby One More Time songstress took to Instagram to share a throwback photo of herself with the actor as well as Diane Warren in a since-deleted post.

She had penned in the caption: ‘Cool pic of me and Ben Affleck and Diane Warren years ago!!! He’s such an amazing actor. Did I fail to mention I made out with Ben that night … I honestly forgot … d**n that’s crazy!!! 

‘Wish I could tell you guys the story that happened before that !!! Oh dear, I’m just being a gossip girl. Psss I actually forgot!’ 

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The Accountant 2 star continued, ‘And that’s where you think, well okay, this isn’t really news. It’s not even real. It’s not what would be happening if this effect wasn’t taking place’

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The actor could possibly be referencing to the singer’s 2008 breakdown – not long after she shaved her head at a hair salon. She was soon placed under a 13-year conservatorship which ended in 2021; seen in 2003 in NYC 

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His comments come one year after Spears made claims that she had ‘made out’ with Ben years earlier

Earlier on in the conversation during the podcast episode, Affleck also briefly addressed viral memes of himself looking glum in public. 

One instance took place back in 2016 in London when Ben was pictured with a sad expression on his face during a smoke break – and the snap soon filtered through the internet. 

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He explained, ‘It’s this selective experience of take a photo of somebody everytime they’re feeling irritated, they’re gonna look irritated…’ 

Affleck also shared to host Theo Von, ‘I think there’s this sense that like, if you take someone’s picture all the time, they must want you to be seen. Which is not the case at all for me.

‘I’m self-conscious, I don’t really want you to be seeing that. I don’t see any reason for it. As an actor, it’s no good for you.

‘Because I don’t really want people to watch a movie and be like, “That’s not him. ‘Cause I saw him yesterday eating lunch and I know who he really is.” It gets in the way of you being able to create the illusion,’ he added of his roles in projects. 

Ben explained that ‘It’s really hard work’ to get the audience to ‘care’ for the characters. 

‘They have to suspend disbelief and that’s harder if you’re constantly being shown something else. So, I think it gets in the way. It makes it harder to be an actor. 

Ben Affleck makes a special appearance on the New Heights podcast

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Earlier on in the conversation during the podcast episode, Affleck also briefly addressed viral memes of himself looking glum in public; seen above in 2016 in London 

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Affleck also shared to host Theo Von, ‘I think there’s this sense that like, if you someone’s picture all the time, they must want you to be seen. Which is not the case at all for me’

‘And it’s also not good for – people start to resent you. If they see you too much. Whether or not you are tying to be seen,’ Affleck further expressed. 

Last year while stopping by Kevin Hart’s talk show Hart To Hart, the actor also talked about why he tends to have a ‘resting b***h face’ in photos. 

‘I’m also a little bit shy. I also don’t like a lot of attention,’ the father-of-three said. ‘That’s why people see me and they’re like, “Why’s this dude always mad?” Because somebody has their camera and sticks it in my face and I’m like, “Okay, here we go.”‘

Ben also explained that sometimes his face naturally doesn’t look happy and added, ‘By the way, I also might be somebody who I do find myself – I’ll be sitting at home, and they’re like, “What’s wrong?”

‘I’m like, “Nothing. I’m listening to this thing.” I start thinking, is something wrong?’ Affleck continued.

The comedian then told the actor that there is possibly a cause to his ‘resting b***h face,’ to which Ben humorously replied with, ‘B***h?! Now, now, I have resting hard face.’

When it comes to public scrutiny of his facial expressions, the Good Will Hunting star added, ‘People are projecting something onto me that I don’t feel about myself at all.’

Ben’s latest movie The Accountant 2 was released late last month in April, and has since raked in around $66 million in the global box office. 

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‘And it’s also not good for – people start to resent you. If they see you too much. Whether or not you are tying to be seen,’ Affleck further expressed; seen in April in NYC 

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Earlier this month, a source also revealed to In Touch that the actor is ready to enter the dating scene following his divorce from Jennifer Lopez; seen in 2024 in Beverly Hills 

Earlier this month, a source also revealed to In Touch that the actor is ready to enter the dating scene following his divorce from Jennifer Lopez. 

The insider said that the star is ‘not giving up on love’ and is also ‘looking forward to meeting someone new.’ 

Ben is reportedly wants to stay away from another ‘high-profile romance’ but has had difficulties when it comes to ‘meeting the right type of woman.’

It also comes amid a disagreement Ben and Jennifer have had over the sale of their $68M marital home which has been sitting on the market for nearly one year.

Late last month, it was reported that the former couple have differing opinions on what steps need to be taken to sell the lavish abode.

The actor listed the sprawling estate last year in July, and has since failed to catch a buyer.

Ben and Jennifer – whose divorce was officially settled a few months earlier in January – purchased the property in cash for $60.8 million in May 2023.

However, sources told TMZ that Affleck is eager to lower the price of the house while Lopez is not ready to do so, despite there not being much interest in the abode.

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Ben is reportedly wants to stay away from another ‘high-profile romance’ but has had difficulties when it comes to ‘meeting the right type of woman’; seen in April in L.A. 

Some realtors have also informed the outlet that the $68M asking price is too high and needs to be dropped by at least 15% if the pair want to offload their marital home.

An agent told the publication that the two stars had overpaid for the estate, which consists of 12 bedrooms and 24 bathrooms.

But buyers who do have the finances to purchase a home around that price range are currently searching for deals in the market.

Insurance costs are also on the rise, and insiders told the outlet that insurance for the Beverly Hills mansion is estimated to be around $500,000 annually.

In January, deadly wildfires spread throughout Southern California, which has also resulted in fire insurance costs skyrocketing.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Jennifer’s rep for comment.

A separate insider also informed Us Weekly that ‘Jennifer thinks they can get more money for the home, so she wants to keep the price as is. But the real estate market is not there and it’s not selling.

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‘Ben wants to get rid of it because their divorce is over and he wants to cut all ties and have it be done. He just wants it over and to sell it. He wants to reduce the price,’ the source said; seen in 2023 in Las Vegas 

Ben Affleck heads into an Ikea in Burbank with his son Samuel

‘Ben wants to get rid of it because their divorce is over and he wants to cut all ties and have it be done. He just wants it over and to sell it. He wants to reduce the price.’

At the time when the two stars listed the home on the market, a source also informed the outlet: ‘They are in a rush to sell it.

‘Ben especially wants to be done with the house. He was never happy there,’ they continued.

‘The house is incredibly huge at 38,000 square feet and Ben and Jen never felt settled at the house. They rarely have the kids full time, so it felt huge for the two of them.’