‘I have the money, you're broke': Ben Affleck reacts to viral video rejecting son's expensive request
Ben Affleck is teaching his children that they shouldn't expect any handouts from their famous father.
Last month, the 52-year-old actor made headlines after he and his son, Samuel, were featured in a viral video during which he shut down the 13-year-old's request for a $US6,000 ($A9393) pair of Dior Air Force 1s.
During a Tuesday appearance on Today with Jenna & Friends, The Accountant star spoke out about his exchange with Samuel and opened up about his approach to parenting.
'He wanted these sneakers, and I was like, 'These sneakers are $6,000, what are you talking about? What are you going to do: mow lawns? You got $6,000?'' Affleck quipped. 'He was like, 'We have the money.' I was like, 'I have the money! You're broke.''
Affleck said it's important for his children to understand the value of hard work.
'You love your kids. You want to give them everything and do everything for them, but I think you definitely do them a disservice by not connecting [if] you want something that you want, you have to work for that,' he said.
The Oscar-winner shares Samuel with his ex-wife, Jennifer Garner, along with two older kids.
Affleck revealed that Violet, who is a freshman at Yale University, and high school student, Fin, are both already gainfully employed.
'My oldest two have jobs. In fact, one just got a job, the kind of classic teenager working a shop job; I won't say what it is,' he said. 'My older one in college is working and trying to get an internship for the summer.'
'And yeah, my son, who's 13, he's reckoning with that reality right now. He's looking at no shoes in his closet. Well, he's got shoes, just no crazy-expensive, fancy shoes,' Affleck continued.
'And I'm like, 'Well, if you want that, you can work 1,000 hours,'' he added. 'You know what I mean? Minimum wage. And once you work 1,000 hours, you may not want to spend that on a pair of shoes.'
In the original video that was shared on March 3, Affleck and Samuel could be seen browsing various pairs of shoes at a sneaker convention, where Samuel spotted the Dior shoes. Upon seeing the hefty price tag, Affleck told his son, 'That's a lot of lawns you got to mow there.'
Affleck was raised in a middle-class family in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The actor's mother, Christopher 'Chris' Anne Boldt, is a former elementary schoolteacher who received her master's degree from Harvard.
Affleck's father, Timothy Affleck, who struggled with alcoholism for years, did not attend college and held a variety of jobs, including working as an auto mechanic, bartender and janitor at Harvard.
Timothy and Chris Anne, who also share son Casey Affleck, 49, divorced when Affleck was 12. After moving to California, Timothy eventually embraced sobriety and worked as an addiction counsellor.
During a 2018 interview with Grazia Daily, Timothy told the outlet that he was proud of Ben and Casey for staying humble after rising to fame.
'Both of my sons are hard workers. They have a tremendous amount of empathy, they don't forget where they came from, they're very kind and generous. Those are the qualities that I value,' he said.
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