Ben Affleck Opens Up About The Hilariously Savage Way His Kids Roast Him—And Fans Are Cracking Up

Twenty-four years ago, Ben Affleck was People’s Sexiest Man Alive. These days, his toughest critics live under the same roof.

The Oscar winner may have spent decades charming moviegoers, but apparently none of that star power works on his three kids—especially when Dad starts handing out relationship advice. Affleck shared that lesson during a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, where he revealed how his kids keep him humble while promoting his new film, Animals.

He revealed that his attempts at fatherly wisdom have become a family affair:

“I give advice and try to talk to them, parent them, as you do. What I found is that now it’s not only one teenager rolling their eyes, I’ll kind of launch into something at the dinner table, and I’ll catch them giving each other looks, and I realize I’m the caricature in this story.”

Affleck shares Violet, 20, Fin, 17, and Samuel, 14, with ex-wife Jennifer Garner. The former couple married in 2005, separated in 2015, and finalized their divorce in 2018. Somewhere along the way, Affleck apparently lost another title, admitting he “couldn’t imagine” not being the cool dad.

As it turns out, the dinner table is where things really got interesting:

“My kids are talking at dinner, and they’re talking about their friends and the drama and the relationships, and I have some lived experience, I think, that’s worth sharing, some lessons. You know, these are the kind of things we give to our children.”

Garner has previously praised Affleck as an “incredible co-parent,” telling Entertainment Weekly that he’s “wonderful” about stepping in with their children when work takes her away. His co-parenting credentials may be solid, but his dating advice apparently comes with a few notes.

Fin wasted no time putting Dad’s romance résumé to the test:

“Oh, like you’re the expert on relationships.”

Look, the kid has a point.

Affleck’s romance résumé includes Gwyneth Paltrow, a 13-year marriage to Garner, Ana de Armas, and enough history with Jennifer Lopez to span two engagements, one marriage, two breakups, and more than two decades of Bennifer headlines.

So yes, Affleck has “lived experience.” Whether that makes Dad the family relationship expert is another matter.

And Fin found even more material during a trip to the bookstore with Dad:

“You see the titles, and we’re just browsing around, and there’s some book by a French guy, and it’s called I’m Sorry for Everything. My kid immediately just turns to me deadpan and goes, ‘Oh look, Dad, it’s your autobiography.’”

At that point, I’m leaving the bookstore. Fin wins.

Thankfully for Affleck, the conversation eventually moved beyond his teenage roasting battle. The longtime friends revisited Affleck, presenting Kimmel with a Peabody Award and his recent $1 million charity win on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? alongside Jeopardy! champion Jamie Ding.

Naturally, there was also some Matt Damon slander—because apparently Good Will Hunting royalties don’t buy peace—and enough Boston pride for Affleck to audition as the new voice of Logan International Airport. Wicked cool stuff.

With apologies to Matt Damon, you can view the full interview here:

- YouTubeJimmy Kimmel Live

But it was Affleck’s hilariously relatable parenting struggles that got social media talking—see the reactions below:

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u/targetpracticesucks; u/heyjajas

As for Animals, Affleck revealed that Garner was initially considered to play his onscreen wife before they ultimately decided against it, citing the “baggage” that comes with casting real-life exes—which, considering everything Fin just reminded us about Dad’s relationship history, feels like a fair assessment.

Enter stage left, Kerry Washington, who plays Affleck’s wife as the couple faces every parent’s worst nightmare when their son is kidnapped.

For Affleck, Washington was an easy choice:

“Kerry, who I’ve also always wanted to work with and who was amazing, leapt to mind to play it with me.”

Pulling triple duty, Affleck co-wrote, directed, and stars as Los Angeles mayoral candidate Mark Kimball, with Gillian Anderson and Steven Yeun among the film’s supporting cast.

Check out the trailer below:

- YouTubeNetflix

And there’s more Affleck and Washington on the way. Affleck is set to appear on Season 5 of Washington’s Street You Grew Up On podcast, premiering tomorrow. So, maybe all that will earn Affleck a little respect at home. Then again, Fin already has the title of Dad’s next autobiography covered.