Jennifer Garner opens up on paparazzi hounding her family
Jennifer Garner opened up about how paparazzi aggressively pursued her family for years, describing red-light chases, blocked pediatrician visits, and kids knocked over outside preschool as photographers scrambled for shots of her and Ben Affleck. She spoke on Netflix’s Shut Up Evan podcast while promoting The Five Star Weekend.
Key Takeaways
- Garner said photographers ran red lights and drove onto lawns while chasing her family.
- Kids were knocked over leaving preschool; a soccer league asked them to stop attending.
- She and Halle Berry backed a 2013 California law to better protect children from photographers.
- Two paparazzi still follow her daily after 20-plus years; she described an odd “Stockholm syndrome” bond with one.
The actress’s comments, covered by The Hollywood Reporter, land as a raw look at celebrity privacy gone wrong. For more odd and headline-grabbing stories, browse our Bizarre News & Florida Man hub.
What did Jennifer Garner say about paparazzi danger?
Garner recalled a period when pursuit felt “totally ludicrous” and unsafe for people nearby. “If I went through a yellow light, 15 cars would go through the red behind me,” she said. Photographers also drove onto lawns, even on hillsides.
Everyday errands turned tense. She described arriving at a pediatrician with a sick child and finding the door blocked by cameras. “There’s something wrong with that. And the kids are paying the price,” she told host Evan Ross Katz.
She also said children were “getting knocked over coming out of preschool by photographers who were so hungry to get to me or to Ben.” A local soccer association even asked the family to stop coming because about 20 cars showed up to watch games.
Why did photographers target Garner over other stars?
Garner acknowledged Hollywood privilege and said she felt uneasy complaining when her kids “have everything in the world.” Still, she stressed the chase put bystanders at risk and “just got silly.”
She lived near more famous neighbors, including peers like Matt Damon, yet said paparazzi followed her because she had the children. “They wouldn’t follow Ben. They wouldn’t follow Matt Damon,” she recalled, summarizing the attitude as “There’s the chick with the kids.”
In 2013, Garner joined Halle Berry in testifying before a California State Assembly panel backing stronger child-protection rules for photographers. The law later passed. Her children with Affleck are now older—one in college and two in high school—but the memories remain sharp.
Does she still deal with paparazzi every day?
Asked whether the climate improved, Garner said two photographers still follow her daily and have been “assigned” to her for “20-plus years, 25 years.” With her main shooter, she described “an odd respect for each other” and a “Stockholm Syndrome thing.”
They have shared real-life moments: when she feared someone might hurt her, she ran to the longtime paparazzo because she trusted him. She has also “called the cops on him a million times,” pleading for a quiet walk with her kids and dog.
Garner is starring in Peacock’s The Five Star Weekend and producing Netflix’s upcoming 13 Going on 30 reboot—while still navigating the cameras that never quite left.