Ben Affleck has revealed that he was banned from Instagram twice after the platform flagged his account for impersonating himself.
Speaking to Variety in a profile published Wednesday, October 7, Affleck said he had only six followers on the account, including his children and some of their friends.
“I got banned from Instagram twice for impersonating myself,” Affleck said.
He explained that the account was primarily an excuse to check his children’s social media accounts.
Affleck says he has no plans for social media persona
Despite his high-profile career, Affleck said he has no intention of developing a public-facing social media presence.
The actor pointed to his ex-wives, Jennifer Lopez and Jennifer Garner, as examples of celebrities who have successfully built a presence and following online.
“You work to develop that,” Affleck said, acknowledging that maintaining such a profile requires significant effort.
Affleck joked about what he could potentially post, asking, “What am I going to do, unbox something?”
Actor embraces celebrity image in other ways
While Affleck has largely stayed away from building a social media persona, he has embraced his public image through other forms of popular culture.
His appearances in Dunkin’ commercials and a widely shared cigarette-smoking meme have become part of his celebrity identity.
Affleck said his daughter has described this public persona as “the beleaguered man”.
The actor shares three children with Garner: Violet, 20, Seraphina, 17, and Samuel, 14.
Affleck also said having a sense of humour about how the public views him is important.
“You have to have a sense of humor and be in on the joke with people,” he said, adding that the viral smoking meme reflected how he was feeling at the time.
