Ben Affleck: Paparazzi scare his kids
By Alan Duke, CNN / December 10, 2013
Los Angeles (CNN) -- Ben Affleck's children are "freaked out" by photographers who camp near their home and follow them in public, the actor said.
Affleck and his wife, Jennifer Garner, hope a beefed-up California law with keep the paparazzi at a distance when it takes effect on New Year's Day.
"My kids aren't celebrities," Affleck said in a wide-ranging Playboy interview. "They never made that bargain."
The law, which Garner joined Halle Berry to lobby for, doubles to a year the jail time a photographer can get for harassment that "seriously alarms, annoys, torments, or terrorizes" children. The law applies to children under 16 who are photographed because of their parent's occupation.
"The tragic thing is, people who see those pictures naturally think it's sweet," Affleck said. "They don't see the gigantic former gang member with a huge lens standing over a 4-year-old and screaming to get the kid's attention."
Affleck and Garner have three children: Violet, 8, Serafina, 5 next month, and Samuel, who turns 2 in February.
"The kids are always looking down because they're freaked out and scared of these people," Affleck said. "And so they yell. Which is fine if you're Lindsay Lohan coming out of a club, or me, or any adult. With kids, it's tasteless at best."
