Ben Affleck appeared to be in a somber mood during a solo outing in Los Angeles on Thursday.
The 53-year-old actor was spotted with a glum expression on his face as he left his office in a luxury sports car.
Photos of Affleck looking forlorn have circulated widely on social media in recent years, forcing the actor to publicly address why he often looks so miserable.
‘I don’t really like to do big social events or go out much. I’m kind of shy, I don’t really like to be on camera,’ the star told Theo Von on the This Past Weekend podcast.
Ben Affleck appeared to be in a somber mood during a solo outing in Los Angeles on Thursday – days after he and Matt Damon were sued by two Miami cops for defamation over their Netflix movie The Rip
Whether deep in thought or just weary, Affleck went on his way without cracking a smile
However, Affleck’s vibe on Thursday may have had something to do with the lawsuit that was filed against him and Matt Damon last week.
In their latest movie, The Rip, which was produced by their own company, Artists Equity, the longtime friends play two police officers who uncover corruption within the Miami-Dade Police Department after discovering $20 million of cartel cash.
Now they’re being accused of defaming the real people who allegedly inspired the story.
Jason Smith and Jonathan Santana are officers in the Miami-Dade Sherrif’s Office, and while they are not mentioned by name in the film, they are suing Artists Equity and Affleck and Damon’s LLC production company Falco Productions over the depiction of law enforcement characters in The Rip.
According to documents obtained by Entertainment Weekly, the lawsuit argues Lt. Dane Dumars (Damon) and Detective Sgt. J.D. Byrne (Affleck) are so heavily associated with Smith and Santana that their portrayal has resulted in ‘substantial harm to their personal and professional reputations.’
Smith and Santana claim the movie and its advertisements ‘imply misconduct, poor judgment, and unethical behavior in connection with a real law enforcement operation.’
The officers have brought claims of defamation per se and defamation by implication, as well as one for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
According to the lawsuit, The Rip is inspired by a real-life incident that happened in June 2016, when Smith and Santana seized more than $21 million.
The longtime friends are being accused of defaming the real people who allegedly inspired the film’s story
The lawsuit argues that Detective Sgt. J.D. Byrne (Affleck) and Lt. Dane Dumars (Damon) are so heavily associated with Jason Smith and Jonathan Santana that their portrayal has resulted in ‘substantial harm to their personal and professional reputations’
Affleck – pictured on April 18 – has previously blamed his usual taciturn appearance on shyness
They argued ‘the film’s use of unique, non-generic details of the June 29, 2016, investigation, combined with its Miami-Dade setting and portrayal of a narcotics team, creates a reasonable inference that the officers depicted are Plaintiffs.’
The complaint highlighted a number of moments in the movie where the characters stretch the rules when it comes to procedure, including one scene where Affleck’s character kills a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent.
The movie opens with text that says the project was ‘inspired by true events,’ but the complaint argued that apart from ‘the fact that a large seizure occurred, the events portrayed in the film did not happen.’
The Rip has allegedly led to the cops’ family members and colleagues suggesting they ‘must have used seized funds to complete personal property improvements, purchase vehicles and vessels, and afford private schooling for their children’ as a result of what they saw in the movie.
The men are seeking damages and attorney fees, plus ‘a public retraction and correction,’ including ‘the addition of a prominent disclaimer’ to the movie.
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