WHAT’S THE APPEAL OF BENANA?
Affleck and de Armas are the pandemic’s only tabloid celebrities,
Even during a global pandemic, Ben Affleck manages to make news. This time, Affleck’s ubiquity is because of his relationship with Ana de Armas, 32, who just had her breakout year as the star of the hit movie Knives Out. The couple has drawn a curious amount of attention since they started dating earlier this year. Their relationship went public around the time the world started to shut down, and they decided to quarantine together in Los Angeles. Ever since, practically everything they do becomes a tabloid story.
They walk adorable dogs. Wear sweatpants. Drink excessive amounts of Dunkin’ coffee. Lock themselves out of the house. Hang out with Affleck’s kids. Kiss while wearing masks.
They also attended a rally to support the Black community in Venice, Calif., which resulted in a much-circulated photo of Affleck holding up a Black Lives Matter sign.
They don’t do anything that interesting except sometimes get tangled in their dogs’ leashes. Yet they’re oddly riveting in a way that other stars in this time simply aren’t.
“I think there a lot of people during this global health crisis looking for structure in an uncontrolled situation where there are so many question marks and so much uncertainty,” said Elaine Lui, the etalk and The Social TV personality who runs LaineyGossip.com.
There’s also the never-ending complicated narrative of Affleck. De Armas, the next Bond girl and future star of a Marilyn Monroe biopic, only recently cemented her status as a burgeoning star. But Affleck has been a Hollywood movie staple for more than 20 years, and his roller-coaster career has run parallel to his much-documented personal life. After his dreamlike Hollywood origin story, winning an Oscar for writing Good Will Hunting with his best friend Matt Damon, it’s no surprise audiences became deeply invested in his journey. The charmed Gwyneth Paltrow years. The Jennifer Lopez/Bennifer era.
The 10-year marriage to Jennifer Garner. The Garner divorce — all featuring flops and successes along the way.
Including the recent dark years: His Justice League press tour turned into conversations about sexual harassment, as Affleck was asked about Harvey Weinstein producing Good Will Hunting. He apologized for groping Hilarie Burton on-air in 2003. He’s been candid about his years-long struggle with alcohol addiction and multiple trips to rehab.
Perhaps that’s what makes Affleck more relatable than most stars — a wealthy celebrity brought down to earth by his many mistakes. Plus, he’s someone who isn’t afraid to show how he really feels, such as an extremely gloomy shot of him pulling down his face mask to smoke a cigarette. Lui is convinced BenAna is truly in love, evidenced by their outings with Affleck’s three children.
“I hope they have the sense of humour to be like, ‘Well, you know, if we were a source of comfort to people, great,’” Lui said. “I hope it doesn’t become a bummer, like, ‘It was so horrible that people were paying so much attention to us.’”
The Washington Post