His name has been dragged into the explosive sexual harassment controversy currently dominating Hollywood.
But Ben Affleck was on full-on family mode on Thursday as he picked his daughters up from school.
The 45-year-old put on a united front with his ex Jennifer Garner as they collected Violet, 11, and Seraphina, eight.
Bat dad: Ben Affleck was on full-on family mode on Thursday as he picked his daughters up from school
The foursome then headed to Rori’s Artisanal Creamery in Santa Monica for ice creams.
The family all laughed together, hugged and and held hands in a show of affection.
The day before the Batman star publicly apologized and admitted to acting ‘inappropriately’ after actress Hilarie Burton accused him of groping her breast on a 2003 episode of TRL.
Indeed Affleck cut a downcast figure while on a solo outing in Brentwood earlier on Thursday.
Daddy duty: The 45-year-old was on hand to collect Violet, 11, and Seraphina, eight
Close: His girls held his hand as they left school for the day
Regaled: The actor listened intently as his daughters filled him in on their day
Chauffeur: He loaded them into the family car before heading off
His grizzled locks were disheveled as he sported a matching bushy beard on the outing.
The A-list actor was dressed down in a black leather Gucci bomber jacket over a graphic T-shirt, baggy jeans, and green leather tennis shoes.
His girlfriend Lindsay Shookus looked relaxed as she was was spotted across the country on an errand run in New York City on the same day.
Ex: Mom Jennifer Garner met up with them afterwards
Co-parenting: The former couple put on a united front with their girls
Shock: They split in 2015 after ten years of marriage
Treat: Ben and Jen took the girls for an after school ice cream
Tarty: They stopped by Rori’s Artisanal Creamery in Santa Monica
Serious: Jen seemed to get more of a laugh chatting with the kids
However it is his ex wife Jennifer who is said to be not so pleased that he is now embroiled in such a scandal.
A source told E! News on Thursday that the 45-year-old actress ‘is very annoyed because it just means more attention on her and the kids as a result of Ben’s actions’.
‘She tries to shield them from any and all publicity and scrutiny. She’s taking her kids to school and to all of their activities. As far as they know nothing has changed and all is well. That is always her goal but she’s been pretty frustrated with him.’
Mentioned: Ben’s name has been dragged into the explosive sexual harassment controversy currently dominating Hollywood
Happy place: Despite the ugly news, Affleck seemed happy being with his children
Missing one: Ben and Jen’s youngest child, five year old son Samuel, was absent for the trip
Family: The director hugged his little girls close
The two share three children together as their divorce was finalized in April of this year after separating in 2015.
This all comes just a day after the Hollywood actor tweeted a short statement on the incident just hours after it was raised by the One Tree Hill actress in light of the Weinstein sex scandal.
‘I acted inappropriately toward Ms. Burton and I sincerely apologize’, he wrote.
Grim: The day before the Batman star publicly apologized and admitted to acting ‘inappropriately’ after actress Hilarie Burton accused him of groping her breast on a 2003 episode of TRL
Angry: However it is his ex wife Jennifer who is said to be not so pleased that he is now embroiled in such a scandal
Upset: A source told E! News on Thursday that the 45-year-old actress ‘is very annoyed because it just means more attention on her and the kids as a result of Ben’s actions’
Normality: ‘She tries to shield them from any and all publicity and scrutiny. She’s taking her kids to school and to all of their activities. As far as they know nothing has changed and all is well. That is always her goal but she’s been pretty frustrated with him,’ the insider said
Two cents: This all comes just a day after the Hollywood actor tweeted a short statement on the incident just hours after it was raised by the One Tree Hill actress in light of the Weinstein sex scandal
Burton claims she was groped by Affleck during his appearance on MTV’s TRL in 2003.
The former host of the show shared the allegations on Tuesday night, just hours after Affleck made a statement condemning Harvey Weinstein’s alleged abusive actions in his sexual assault and harassment scandal.
In it he Affleck said he was ‘saddened and angry’ over the ‘sickening’ claims.
Affleck’s statement was quickly slammed by a number of people – including Weinstein accuser Rose McGowan who called Affleck a liar.
When a fan tweeted that Affleck might as well have ‘kept quiet,’ another Twitter user wrote: ‘He also grabbed Hilarie Burton’s breasts on TRL once. Everyone forgot though.’
The actress then surprised the Twitter thread by interjecting with: ‘I didn’t forget.’
Statement:Ben posted an apology on Twitter
In the video he walks over to Burton and puts his arm around the young host who appears to grow noticeably uncomfortable
The incident reportedly happened when he appeared on the show in 2003. Burton was 21.
A video clip from the show shows Affleck telling Burton a story mid-interview which appears to be about moves men use to pick up women.
He leans his arm around the young host who is wearing a yellow bandeau dress. No groping is seen on camera but Burton noticeably jumps and looks shocked on the footage as Affleck smiles and returns to his seat.
Ben finally broke his silence to condemn Harvey Weinstein on Tuesday, saying the sexual harassment claims made him sick. Weinstein produced Good Will Hunting, for which Affleck and Matt Damon (all three pictured) won a Best Original Screenplay Oscar
Speaking further about the incident, Hilarie thanked the Twitter user, writing: ‘I was a kid…Girls. I’m so impressed with you brave ones. I had to laugh back then so I wouldn’t cry. Sending love.’
She then tweeted a clip from an interview she did taking fans behind the scenes at TRL. In it she relives and laughs off the incident.
‘He wraps his arm around me and comes over and tweaks my left boob,’ she says.
‘I’m just like, ‘what are you doing’…Some girls like a good tweakage here and there – I like a high five.’
A female producer then speaks about the incident.
‘I don’t know what happened but Hilarie was like ‘ooo’. There was a little squeeze, I don’t know.’
Further footage shows Affleck asking the host, ‘how old are you – 19?’. He would have been around 31 at the time of the recording.
Burton is known for her portrayal as Peyton Sawyer on One Tree Hill, Sara Ellis in White Collar and Karen Palmer in Lethal Weapon.
Her first role was on TRL where she worked as a host from 1999 until she was cast as Peyton on One Tree Hill. She is married to Walking Dead actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
Hilarie Burton said she was working as a video journalist on TRL in 2003 when she met Affleck, who she claims grabbed her breast. At the time she was just 21 years old
Burton’s first role was on TRL where she worked as a host from 1999 until she was cast as Peyton on One Tree Hill. She is married to Walking Dead actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan. The couple are pictured together on September 17 at the Emmys
TV host Anne-Marie Losique, whose 2004 interview with Ben Affleck recently went viral, claimed Wednesday that she was not a victim of harassment.
‘This was for the camera. You have to understand that we have done dozens and dozens of interviews like that. It was for a show I was producing, so I was not at all a victim,’ Losique told The Hollywood Reporter.
Losique said the interview was just an act and as soon as the cameras stopped ‘there was none of that’.
‘He never touched me in any improper way. He was very respectful,’ the Canadian host said, adding that she’s not ‘thrilled’ to have the interview mixed in with the sexual harassment allegations against Weinstein because she doesn’t ‘think that is at all the same thing’.
TV host Anne-Marie Losique (pictured sitting of Affleck’s lap in the interview), whose 2004 interview with Ben recently went viral, claimed Wednesday she was not a victim of harassment
‘This was for the camera. You have to understand that we have done dozens and dozens of interviews like that. It was for a show I was producing, so I was not at all a victim,’ Losique said Wednesday
The video starts by showing Losique sitting on Affleck’s lap facing him as he’s heard saying: ‘They would like it better if you did the show topless’
The video starts by showing Losique sitting on Affleck’s lap facing him as he’s heard saying: ‘They would like it better if you did the show topless.’
Affleck then turns Losique around so she can face the camera before he places his head on her chest.
‘This is a lovely perfume you have on,’ Affleck says as the two hold each other.
He then says: ‘You ususally show a lot more cleavage than this. What’s the story? Why are you covering it up today?’
‘It’s Sunday morning,’ Losique responds.
The video starts by showing Losique sitting on Affleck’s lap facing him as he’s heard saying: ‘They would like it better if you did the show topless’
Losique (right in 2004) said that Affleck (on Wednesday) ‘never touched me in any improper way’, adding that she’s not ‘thrilled’ to have the interview mixed in with the sexual harassment allegations against Weinstein because she doesn’t ‘think that is at all the same thing’
‘It’s Sunday morning? That never stopped you before from getting them ti****s out,’ Affleck says back to her in the interview that lasted for more than five minutes.
But despite what the video appears to show, Losique said it ‘has been blown out of proportion’.
‘I know that people like fishing for anything, but this is completely out of context. I would like this to not have any negative impact on him. I find it sad.’
Losique told the Hollywood Reporter that she did have an uncomfortable encounter with Weinstein years ago.
Author and makeup artist, Annamarie Tendler (right in 2016), claimed on Wednesday that Affleck (pictured going to rehab on Wednesday) ‘grabbed her a**’ while they were attending a Golden Globes party in 2014
The makeup artist followed that tweet up with more detail, saying: ‘He walked by me, cupped my butt and pressed his finger into my crack’
Tendler, who is the author of The Daily Face and Pin It, tweeted Wednesday afternoon demanding an apology from the actor for the incident
‘He did invite me once at the Toronto Film Festival to go up to his suite for an interview. Of course I did not go. He said, “I would be more comfortable in my suite.” I said, “Umm, no.” I am not saying something would have happened, but I made sure nothing happened,’ Losique said.
The same day a make-up artist has claimed that Affleck ‘grabbed her a**’ while they were attending a Golden Globes party.
Annamarie Tendler, who is the author of The Daily Face and Pin It, tweeted Wednesday afternoon demanding an apology from the actor over the alleged incident.
‘I would also love to get an apology from Ben Affleck who grabbed my a** at a Golden Globes party in 2014,’ she tweeted.
Tendler followed that tweet up with more detail, saying: ‘He walked by me, cupped my butt and pressed his finger into my crack.
Tendler is married to comedian John Mulaney. The pair are pictured at the ‘Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between’ Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art in May
‘I guess he tried to play it like he was politely moving me out of the way and oops touched my butt instead of my lower back?
‘Like most women in these situations I didn’t say anything but I have thought a lot about what I’d say if I ever saw him again,’ she concluded.
Writer and comedian, Jen Statsky, who is known for her work on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, also tweeted about Tendler’s allegations.
‘I was also at this party and *multiple* friends had this same exact experience,’ she wrote on Twitter.
Tendler (left) said ‘like most women in these situations’ she remained silent following the alleged Affleck incident, which Tendler says took place at a party after the Golden Globes in 2014. Affleck is pictured at that 2014 awards show
Writer and comedian, Jen Statsky, who is known for her work on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, also tweeted about Tendler’s allegations, above
Earlier on Tuesday Rose McGowan harshly criticized Affleck on Twitter – even going to far as to call him a liar.
She tweeted: ‘@benaffleck “GODD*MNIT! I TOLD HIM TO STOP DOING THAT” you said that to my face. The press conf I was made to go to after assault. You lie.’
The actress, was allegedly assaulted by Weinstein in 1997 and has been crusading against silence over Weinstein’s grim past, and was the first of many to point out the 45-year-old actor’s claims to obliviousness.
She then tweeted a screengrab of her message onto her main timeline with the message: ‘You want to play let’s play #ROSEARMY.’
Hilarie Burton, left, claims she was groped by Ben Affleck during his appearance on TRL in 2003. The star made multiple appearances on the show, pictured
Affleck only made the remarks after five days of widespread condemnation of Weinstein – and after being asked repeatedly for comment by DailyMail.com
Although Affleck implied that he had only just learned of the Weinstein claims, McGowan said she’d told him after her alleged 1997 assault and that he was aware of previous allegations
Immediately after his remarks, McGowan also tweeted ‘Ben Affleck f**k off’
It’s not clear which press conference McGowan was referring to, but both she (left) and Affleck (center) appeared in the 1998 horror movie Phantoms (pictured), produced by Weinstein
It’s not clear which press conference she was referring to, but both McGowan and Affleck appeared in the 1998 movie Phantoms, which was executive-produced by Weinstein.
The horror flick premiered at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival, which is where McGowan’s alleged assault took place.
Affleck finally responded to the assault allegations against Weinstein five days after they broke. The producer backed Affleck and Matt Damon’s screenplay for Good Will Hunting.
Affleck said that he was ‘saddened and angry’ over the claims but did not explicitly say that he was previously unaware of the claims made about Weinstein.
Ben’s brother Casey Affleck has also been accused of sexual harassment, and many were enraged when he took home the title of Best Actor for his performance in Manchester By The Sea at the 2017 Academy Awards
He wrote: ‘I am saddened and angry that a man who I worked with used his position of power to intimidate, sexually harass and manipulate many women over decades.
‘The additional allegations of assault that I read this morning made me sick. This is completely unacceptable, and I find myself asking what I can do to make sure this doesn’t happen to others.
‘We need to do better at protecting our sisters, friends, co-workers and daughters. We must support those who come forward, condemn this type of behavior when we see it and help ensure there are more women in positions of power.’
McGowan, angry at the stars’ days of silence, initially reacted to the news with a simple ‘Ben Affleck f*** off’.
McGowan had been prodding Affleck and Damon for days to make some kind of remark to the claims, and may have expected him to make some kind of denial.
McGowan also acknowledged a few of Damon’s similarly tongue-tied pals, tweeting: ‘Ben Affleck Casey Affleck, how’s your morning boys?’
On Monday, she tweeted: ‘Ben Affleck Casey Affleck, how’s your morning boys?’
Casey Affleck has also been accused of sexual harassment, and many were enraged when he took home the title of Best Actor for his performance in Manchester By The Sea at the 2017 Academy Awards.
The new allegations that Affleck mentioned came in an article by The New Yorker on Tuesday that said Weinstein had previously raped three women, significantly intensifying the scandal surrounding the disgraced movie mogul.
Actress Asia Argento and a former aspiring actress named Lucia Evans went on the record to allege Weinstein forced himself on them sexually. A third woman spoke anonymously.
Angelina Jolie (above in September) said that she never worked with Weinstein again after her made unwanted sexual advances on her while filming ‘Playing by Heart’
Victim: Gwyneth Paltrow was sexually harassed by Harvey Weinstein (pair above in 2002) at the start of her career claims the actress, and had boyfriend Brad Pitt confront the producer
More than a dozen women have now said Weinstein sexually harassed or assaulted them.
Damon (pictured with Weinstein in 1998, the year Good Will Hunting was released) spoke out just after Affleck did, claiming that he had no idea of the producer’s actions
The incidents described range from unwanted groping to forced sex.
In a statement to the New York Times, Weinstein appeared to acknowledge some incidents did take place
‘I appreciate the way I’ve behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologize for it,’ he said.
However, a representative for Weinstein vehemently denied the allegations of non-consensual sex in a statement to the New Yorker.
‘Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein. Mr. Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances. Mr. Weinstein obviously can’t speak to anonymous allegations, but with respect to any women who have made allegations on the record [in the New Yorker piece], Mr. Weinstein believes that all of these relationships were consensual. Mr. Weinstein has begun counseling, has listened to the community and is pursuing a better path. Mr. Weinstein is hoping that, if he makes enough progress, he will be given a second chance.’
Some of those incidents overlap with the eight allegations of sexual harassment previously reported by The New York Times, all of which resulted in financial settlements.
Affleck and co-star Matt Damon owe their careers to Weinstein after winning a best original screenplay Oscar back in 1998 for Good Will Hunting.
The film, which they both starred in, was produced by The Weinstein Company.
Affleck’s statement came after he refused to respond to repeated requests for comment from Dailymail.com.
It also came shortly before the New York Times published a story revealing both Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie were subjected to unwanted advances by the Hollywood heavyweight.
Affleck and Paltrow dated briefly in the late-90s. Paltrow was dating Brad Pitt around the time Weinstein made advances towards her.
McGowan had also lashed out at Damon, calling him a ‘spineless profiteer who stays silent’ after it was alleged that he and Russell Crowe had helped kill a story about the mogul’s harassment in 2004.
Damon broke his own silence shortly after Affleck, denying that accusation – and claiming he had never been aware of the movie mogul harassing women.
WEINSTEIN’S ACCUSERS
Angelina Jolie said she had to turn down Weinstein’s advances as a young actress
Gwyneth Paltrow: The star told the New York Times that Weinstein touched her and suggested having joint massages in the bedroom before she started shooting the 1996 film Emma. She said she told her then boyfriend Brad Pitt about the incident and he confronted the mogul.
Angelina Jolie: Jolie told the Times she had to turn down advances from Weinstein in 1998 and chose never to work with him again. She said she warned other women about him.
Louisette Geiss: Actress was called to a late night meeting with Weinstein in 2008. He allegedly emerged in a bathrobe and told her he would green light her script if she watched him masterbate. She left the meeting.
Judith Godreche: The French actress says Weinstein tried to massage her and pull off her sweater after asking her up to his Cannes suite to see the view in 1996.
Dawn Dunning: Aspiring actress says she was called to a meeting about future film projects in 2003. When she arrived Weinstein presented her with three scripts for his next three movies which he would let her star in, only if she had three-way sex with him. She fled the hotel.
Tomi-Ann Roberts: Weinstein met her when she was serving tables as a college junior in 1984 and told her to meet him at his home. When she arrived, she says, he was naked in the bath and told her she would give a better audition if she was nude. She says she refused and left.
Asia Argento: The Italian actress has accused Weinstein of forcibly performing oral sex on her when she was 21. ‘He terrified me, and he was big. It wouldn’t stop. It was a nightmare.’ She said she went on to have consensual sex with him over the years that followed. She documented the alleged attack in her 2000 film Scarlet Diva.
Katherine Kendall: The Swingers actress was told Weinstein had to stop off in his apartment to pick something up after a screening in 1993. He changed into a bathrobe and told her to massage her. When she resisted she said the mogul returned naked and chased her.
Lucia Evans: The actress, formerly known as Lucia Stoller, claims Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex on him in 2004. Speaking to the New Yorker, she said that she suffered years of trauma after the incident which occurred in a ‘casting meeting’ in a Miramax office in Manhattan. He reportedly called her late at night after the incident.
Gwyneth Paltrow revealed that Weinstein attempted to get her into a hotel bedroom and massage her when she was 22
Mira Sorvino: The Mighty Aphrodite actress told the New Yorker that Weinstein tried to massage her in a hotel room at the 1995 Toronto International Film Festival. He then went to her home in the middle of the night but she called a male friend to protect her, she claimed. She said turning down the mogul adversely affected her career.
Rosanna Arquette: The actress also said her career suffered after she rebuffed Weinstein’s advances in the early 1990s. At a hotel meeting he tried to put her hand on his erect penis, she claims.
Rose McGowan: The actress, who made her breakthrough in 1996 in the Weinstein-produced slasher revival movie Scream, reportedly sued Weinstein after he assaulted her in 1997 at the Sundance Film Festival. She signed a non-disclosure agreement at the close of the suit and has only referred to him obliquely in social media since. On Sunday she referred to being abused by a ‘monster’ and has previously referred to being raped by a studio head.
Career suicide: Mira Sorvino revealed how her career nose-dived after she turned down Weinstein’s advances
Ashley Judd: Judd’s film roles include the 1997 thriller Kiss the Girls – and says that during the filming of that movie Weinstein repeatedly asked her to watch him shower. She was one of the women who spoke out to The New York Times this week, saying: ‘Women have been talking about Harvey amongst ourselves for a long time, and it’s simply beyond time to have the conversation publicly.’
Emma De Caunes: French actress Emma de Caunes said that she met Weinstein in 2010, soon after he told her he had a script he was producing based on a book with a strong female character. Weinstein offered to show her the script, and asked her up to his hotel room, where he began to take a shower. He then emerged naked and with an erection, asking her to lay down with him on the bed and telling her that many had done so before. ‘I was very petrified,’ said de Caunes. ‘But I didn’t want to show him that I was petrified, because I could feel that the more I was freaking out, the more he was excited.’
Zelda Perkins was 25 when, as an assistant of Weinstein’s in London, she reportedly confronted the mogul for harassing her and ‘several’ other women; she later settled out of court
Lauren O’Connor: A former employee of The Weinstein Company, she told executives there in the fall of 2015 that there was ‘a toxic environment for women at this company’ after one of her colleagues told her that Weinstein had pressured her into massaging him while he was naked, the NYT said.
Ambra Battilana: An Italian actress and model, she told the NYT that in March 2015 Weinstein invited her to his New York office. There, she said, he asked if her breasts were real before grabbing them and putting his hands up her skirt. She reported the alleged incident to police, but they did not press charges. According to the NYT, Weinstein later paid her off.
Jessica Barth: Weintein reportedly pressured Barth, an actress, to give him a naked massage in the Peninsula Hotel from 2011 onwards.
Laura Madden: An ex-employee, she told the NYT that Weinstein had asked her to give him massages from 1991 onwards, while they were both in London and Dublin. ‘It was so manipulative,’ she told the NYT. ‘You constantly question yourself – am I the one who is the problem?’ Weinstein denied knowledge.
Emily Nestor: Nestor was a temporary employee of the Weinstein Company for just one day in 2014 when Weinstein approached her and offered to boost her career in exchange for sex, the NYT reported.
Zelda Perkins: An assistant of Weinstein’s based in London in 1998; then 25, she reportedly confronted Weinstein after she and ‘several’ others were harassed and later settled out of court.
Elizabeth Karlsen, an Oscar-winning producer, said a female executive told her almost 30 years ago that she had found Weinstein naked in her bedroom in a Miramax-rented property
Elizabeth Karlsen: The Oscar-nominated producer of Carol and The Crying Game, among others, told The Hollywood Reporter on Sunday that almost 30 years ago, an unnamed young female executive who had worked at Miramax with Weinstein had found him naked in her bedroom one night. The exec was in a house rented by Miramax at the time to cut its overheads.
Liza Campbell: A freelance script reader, she told the UK’s Sunday Times that Weinstein had summoned her to his hotel room in London before telling her to get in the bath with him.
Lauren Sivan: The former Fox news host said that Weinstein trapped her in a closed restaurant and masturbated in front of her to completion in 2007. He took her to a closed restaurant beneath a club she had visited and attempted to kiss her, then when she refused he cornered her and made her watch him touch himself, according to The Huffington Post.
Jessica Hynes: The British actress, best known for her roles in the Bridget Jones movies and for co-creating and co-writing the sitcom Spaced, said she was invited to audition for Weinstein when she was 19 – in a bikini. Hynes, formerly known as Jessica Stevenson, said she refused to wear the skimpy item – and lost the job.
Romola Garai: British actress Romola Garai said she felt “violated” following a meeting with Harvey Weinstein in his London hotel room when she was 18 in which he was in a bathrobe. Garai, best known for her role in “Atonement”, said she had already been hired for a part but was told to audition privately with the Hollywood mogul because ‘you had to be personally approved by him’. “Like every other woman in the industry, I’ve had an ‘audition’ with Harvey Weinstein,” she told The Guardian. ‘So I had to go to his hotel room in the Savoy and he answered the door in his bathrobe. I was only 18. I felt violated by it’.
Unnamed assistant: Weinstein allegedly behaved inappropriately toward a woman employed as his assistant in 1990. The case was settled out of court.
Another unnamed assistant: In 2015, Weinstein reportedly pressured another assistant into giving him a naked massage in the Peninsula Hotel, where he is also said to have pressured Barth.
Unnamed Miramax employee: At one point in the early 1990s, a young woman is alleged to have suddenly left the company after an encounter with Weinstein. She also settled out of court.
Unnamed woman: A woman who did not wish to be named because she feared Weinstein’s connections told The New York Times that the producer had summoned her to his hotel at an unknown date and raped her.