Ben Affleck Tells ‘The New Yorker’ He And His ‘Garish Tattoos’ Are ‘Doing Just Fine’

Ever since Rose McGowan called out Ben Affleck over his knowledge of Harvey Weinstein’s predatory behavior, the Justice League actor has largely kept a low profile. Sure, his possibly leaving The Batman and other film project announcements have dazzled the trades, but the 45-year-old actor has otherwise remained far more silent than fellow entertainer Matt Damon. Or, at least that was until his amazing (and supposedly fake) phoenix back tattoo reappeared in a photo taken in mid-March, which prompted a short article in The New Yorker a week later. This, in turn, engendered Affleck’s first tweet in months.

Titled “The Great Sadness of Ben Affleck,” the article ponders the actor’s “enormous, garish tattoo” and half-jokingly, half-seriously argues it “suggests not just the fall of Affleck but the coming fall of man.” Responses to the article itself, as well as many tweets promoting it from The New Yorker‘s official account, accused the magazine of fat-shaming the actor. Whether or not Affleck actually believed this was the case remains to be seen, though his tweet responding to the story suggests he doesn’t much care. “I’m doing just fine,” he wrote. “Thick skin bolstered by garish tattoos.”

Unsurprisingly, Affleck’s tweet acknowledging The New Yorker‘s article has stirred up plenty of reactions from fans, detractors, and trolls alike.

https://twitter.com/alex_abads/status/979382337380200448

https://twitter.com/kvanaren/status/979382206216003586

https://twitter.com/gabebergado/status/979385293328539648

https://twitter.com/speriod/status/979378978019397632

https://twitter.com/lukeoneil47/status/979381065029767168

https://twitter.com/DanaSchwartzzz/status/979380171370213378