According to People magazine, the controversy began after the “Justice League” star opened up to radio host Howard Stern on Monday, saying he turned to alcohol several times during his marriage to Garner. The couple, who tied the knot in 2005, announced their separation in 2015 and divorced three years later.
“It’s part of why I started drinking ... because I was trapped,” he said during Monday’s broadcast of “The Howard Stern Show.” “I was like, ‘I can’t leave because of my kids, but I’m not happy. What do I do?’ What I did was drink a bottle of scotch and fall asleep on the couch, which turned out not to be the solution.”
Affleck, 49, added that he’d “probably still be drinking” had he not split up with Garner, with whom he shares three children, People reported.
Following the interview, many social media users and tabloids blasted “The Tender Bar” actor for appearing to pin the blame on Garner, according to CNN. But on Wednesday, Affleck told late-night host Jimmy Kimmel that his previous remarks had been taken out of context, People reported.
“I had gone on and said how much we respect each other and cared about each other and cared about our kids and put them first and went through our stuff,” Affleck said on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” “And they said that I blamed my ex-wife for my alcoholism and that I was trapped ... and just made me out to be the worst, most insensitive, stupid, awful guy.”
Affleck added of the headlines: “If it’s about my kids, I gotta just draw a line. That’s not true. I don’t believe that. It’s the exact opposite of who I am, what I believe, and I would never want my kids to think I would ever say a bad word about their mom.”
Photos: Jennifer Garner through the years Here are some memorable photos of actress Jennifer Garner through the years. (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Photos: Jennifer Garner through the years 2000: Actress Jennifer Garner arrives at the premiere of "Dude, Where's My Car?" on December 10, 2000, in Los Angeles. (Newsmakers via Getty Images)
Photos: Jennifer Garner through the years 2001: Actors Scott Foley and Jennifer Garner attend the 53rd annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Shubert Theater November 4, 2001, in Los Angeles. (Vince Bucci/Getty Images)
Photos: Jennifer Garner through the years 2002: Actress Jennifer Garner attends the 54th annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium on September 22, 2002, in Los Angeles. (Robert Mora/Getty Images)
Photos: Jennifer Garner through the years 2003: Jennifer Garner arrives at the 60th annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2003. (Kevin Winter/ImageDirect via Getty Images)
Photos: Jennifer Garner through the years 2004: Actress Jennifer Garner attends the 61st annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 25, 2004, in Beverly Hills, California. (Carlo Allegri/Getty Images)
Photos: Jennifer Garner through the years 2005: Actress Jennifer Garner arrives to the 62nd annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 16, 2005, in Beverly Hills, California. (Carlo Allegri/Getty Images)
Photos: Jennifer Garner through the years 2006: Actress Jennifer Garner arrives to the 78th annual Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre on March 5, 2006, in Hollywood, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Photos: Jennifer Garner through the years 2007: Actors Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner arrive at the 64th annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton on January 15, 2007, in Beverly Hills, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Photos: Jennifer Garner through the years 2008: Actress Jennifer Garner arrives at the 80th annual Academy Awards held at the Kodak Theatre on February 24, 2008, in Hollywood, California. (Vince Bucci/Getty Images)
Photos: Jennifer Garner through the years 2009: Actress Jennifer Garner arrives at the "The Invention of Lying" screening after party during the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival on September 14, 2009, in Toronto. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Photos: Jennifer Garner through the years 2010: Actress Jennifer Garner arrives at the 67th annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 17, 2010, in Beverly Hills, California. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Photos: Jennifer Garner through the years 2011: Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner and Jennifer during the 16th annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards at the Hollywood Palladium on January 14, 2011, in Los Angeles. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images for VH1)
Photos: Jennifer Garner through the years 2012: Actress Jennifer Garner arrives at the premiere of Warner Bros. Pictures' "Argo" at AMPAS Samuel Goldwyn Theater on October 4, 2012, in Beverly Hills, California. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Photos: Jennifer Garner through the years 2013: Actors Jennifer Garner (left) and Ben Affleck arrive at the Oscars at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 24, 2013, in Hollywood, California. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Photos: Jennifer Garner through the years 2014: Actors Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner attend the 2014 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Graydon Carter on March 2, 2014, in West Hollywood, California. (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
Photos: Jennifer Garner through the years 2015: Jennifer Garner attends the third annual Save the Children Illumination Gala on November 17, 2015, in New York City. (Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Save the Children)
Photos: Jennifer Garner through the years 2016: Actress Jennifer Garner attends the 88th annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 28, 2016, in Hollywood, California. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Photos: Jennifer Garner through the years 2017: Actress/executive producer Jennifer Garner arrives at the premiere of IFC Films' "The Tribes of Palos Verdes" at the Theatre at Ace Hotel on November 17, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)
Photos: Jennifer Garner through the years 2018: Jennifer Garner attends the 90th annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on March 4, 2018, in Hollywood, California. (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)
Photos: Jennifer Garner through the years 2019: Jennifer Garner attends the 2019 Baby2Baby Gala at 3LABS on November 9, 2019, in Culver City, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Photos: Jennifer Garner through the years 2020: Jennifer Garner attends the 26th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium on January 19, 2020, in Los Angeles. (Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)
Photos: Jennifer Garner through the years 2021: Jennifer Garner attends the Baby2Baby 10-Year Gala presented by Paul Mitchell on November 13, 2021, in West Hollywood, California. (Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Baby2Baby)
Photos: Ben Affleck through the years Here are some memorable photos of actor Ben Affleck through the years. (Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
Photos: Ben Affleck through the years 1998: Ben Affleck attends the premiere of the movie "Shakespeare in Love" on Dec. 9, 1998. (Brenda Chase via Getty Images)
Photos: Ben Affleck through the years 1999: Ben Affleck attends the premiere of his movie, "Dogma," on Nov. 9, 1999. (Brenda Chase Online USA Inc. via Getty Images)
Photos: Ben Affleck through the years 2000: Actor Ben Affleck arrives June 5, 2000, to the world premiere of Touchstone Pictures'' "Gone in 60 Seconds," a film by Jerry Bruckheimer, in Westwood, California. (Chris Weeks/Liaison via Getty Images)
Photos: Ben Affleck through the years 2001: Actor Ben Affleck poses for photographers during the 73rd annual Academy Awards on March 25, 2001, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. (David McNew/Getty Images)
Photos: Ben Affleck through the years 2002: Actors Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez attend the New York film premiere of "Maid in Manhattan" at the Zeigfeld Theater on December 8, 2002, in New York City. (Matthew Peyton/Getty Images)
Photos: Ben Affleck through the years 2003: Actors Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck attend the premiere of Revolution Studios' and Columbia Pictures' film "Gigli" at the Mann National Theatre on July 27, 2003, in Westwood, California. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
Photos: Ben Affleck through the years 2004: Actors Ben Affleck (left) and Matt Damon (right) attend the announcement of the winners of this year's Project Greenlight on July 13, 2004, at the Highlands in Hollywood, California. (Carlo Allegri/Getty Images)
Photos: Ben Affleck through the years 2005: Actor Ben Affleck and actress Jennifer Garner laugh with player Kevin Millar of the Boston Red Sox prior to the start of the game against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park on October 1, 2005, in Boston. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Photos: Ben Affleck through the years 2006: Sen. Barack Obama and actor Ben Affleck endorse California Proposition 87 at the University of Southern California campus on October 27, 2006, in Los Angeles. (Chad Buchanan/Getty Images)
Photos: Ben Affleck through the years 2007: Actors Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner arrive at the 64th annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton on January 15, 2007, in Beverly Hills, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Photos: Ben Affleck through the years 2008: Director Ben Affleck attends a photocall to promote his film "Gone Baby Gone" at the Mandarin Oriental on May 28, 2008, in London. (Claire Greenway/Getty Images)
Photos: Ben Affleck through the years 2009: Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck attend Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Semifinals during the 2009 NBA Playoffs at TD Banknorth Garden on May 17, 2009, in Boston. (Elsa/Getty Images)
Photos: Ben Affleck through the years 2011: Actress Amy Ryan and Ben Affleck, the 2011 Chairman's Award winner, pose backstage during the 22nd annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala at the Palm Springs Convention Center on January 8, 2011, in Palm Springs, California. (Michael Buckner/Getty Images For PSFF)
Photos: Ben Affleck through the years 2012: Actor Ben Affleck poses with the Hollywood Ensemble Acting Award during the 16th annual Hollywood Film Awards Gala presented by The Los Angeles Times held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on October 22, 2012, in Beverly Hills, California. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Photos: Ben Affleck through the years 2013: In this handout photo provided by NBCUniversal, actor Ben Affleck accepts the best director award for "Argo" on stage during the 70th annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel International Ballroom on January 13, 2013, in Beverly Hills, California. (Paul Drinkwater/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
Photos: Ben Affleck through the years 2014: Actors Ben Affleck (left) and Jennifer Garner attend the 2014 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Graydon Carter on March 2, 2014, in West Hollywood, California. (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
Photos: Ben Affleck through the years 2015: Actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon attend the Project Greenlight Season 4 Winning Film premiere "The Leisure Class" presented by Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Adaptive Studios and HBO at the Theatre at Ace Hotel on August 10, 2015, in Los Angeles. (Angela Weiss/Getty Images)
Photos: Ben Affleck through the years 2016: Honorees Matt Damon (left) and Ben Affleck accept the Guys of the Decade award onstage during Spike TV's 10th annual Guys Choice Awards at Sony Pictures Studios on June 4, 2016, in Culver City, California. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Photos: Ben Affleck through the years 2017: Actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck attend the premiere of Warner Bros. Pictures' "Live by Night" at TCL Chinese Theatre on January 9, 2017, in Hollywood, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Photos: Ben Affleck through the years 2019: Ben Affleck attends the "Triple Frontier" world premiere at Jazz at Lincoln Center on March 3, 2019, in New York City. (Noam Galai/Getty Images)
Photos: Ben Affleck through the years 2020: Janina Gavankar and Ben Affleck attend the premiere of Warner Bros Pictures' "The Way Back" at Regal LA Live on March 1, 2020, in Los Angeles. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Photos: Ben Affleck through the years 2021: Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez attend the red carpet of the movie "The Last Duel" during the 78th Venice International Film Festival on September 10, 2021, in Venice, Italy. (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)