Ben Affleck advises other addicts to keep their battles out of the public eye.
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck at the Grammy Awards
The 'Air' actor-and-director has been to rehab on several occasions as part of his battle against alcoholism and while becoming a "poster boy" for recovery means he gets the chance to support others having similar struggles, something which always "feels so good", he would tell others in his position not to be so open about their problems.
He told the Hollywood Reporter: "I became — out of no desire of my own — one of the poster boys for actor alcoholism and recovery and the whole thing.
"And the best part about that is that sometimes people call me up and they’re like, 'Hey, can you help me out?' And it makes me feel so good to do that. The big trick of 12-step is the reason they want you to help other people is because it actually helps you more.
" And often what I’ll say to people is, I would avoid [your addiction] coming out if I were you. You don’t need to be anybody’s poster child. You don’t need to f****** tell anybody. That’s why there’s two words on the front of the book. They’re just as important, both of them: Alcoholics Anonymous. It’s always anonymous."
The 50-year-old actor - who is married to Jennifer Lopez - admitted there is a "tremendous stigma" around addiction and thinks some people don't want to seek help because the scrutiny on their habits and behavious can be quite inhibiting".
Discussing the viral 'Ben Affleck having a bad time at the Grammys' meme, he said: "I had a good time at the Grammys. My wife was going, and I thought, 'Well, there’ll be good music. It might be fun.'
"At movie award shows, it’s speeches and, like, sound-mixing webinars. But I thought this would be fun....
"I mean, some of it is, I’m like, 'All right, who is this act?' Like, I don’t keep up. My wife does, obviously. And yeah, it is your wife’s work event.
"And I’ve gone to events and been p***** off. I’ve gone and been bored. I’ve gone to award shows and been drunk, a bunch. Nobody ever once said I’m drunk.
"[But at the Grammys] they were like, 'He’s drunk.' And I thought, that’s interesting.
"That raises a whole other thing about whether or not it’s wise to acknowledge addiction because there’s a lot of compassion, but there is still a tremendous stigma, which is often quite inhibiting. I do think it disincentivises people from making their lives better."
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