Ben Affleck: Nanny Scandal Damages His Appeal As Batman? Garner Gets Emotional

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner have been working through the whirlwind brought on when the two finally announced their split back in June, after months of speculation that they were heading for divorce. To make matters worse, who can forget the extra juicy story which made front page news shortly after Ben and Jen’s announcement? A nanny scandal, involving the duo’s former nanny to their three children, Christine Ouzounian, was unveiled, and the said nanny was not giving up on pushing its legitimacy, no matter what Affleck’s reps told the media.

Although the story was denied and dismissed as untrue, the harm has been done. Constant media attention at such a difficult point in the lives of the couple was enough when it simply involved their divorce news. However, the added stress of dealing with claims of a scandalous affair quite rightly left Garner a tad down-trodden, saw the couple in therapy, and news that the star couple is done for good keeps coming to the forefront. Recent reports also indicate that the nanny story will certainly have an impact on the careers of Jen and Ben. Mainly, it will be Ben who has some work to do in order to win back his fans to a point that he can once again be viewed as, simply, the talented actor we all came to admire.

Affleck’s latest role as Batman is the focus in regards to how the public will receive him as the infamous super hero and as to whether he will lose appeal due to his own poor personal choices. The Montreal Gazette zeroes in on the main concern that even the movie executives have about Ben’s tainted reputation.

“Warner Bros. execs are worried about Ben’s movie Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, coming in March. They’re reportedly concerned that Affleck will be perceived [negatively].”

Radar Online detailed a few of the apparent issues that Warner Brothers is attempting to avoid, noting that they are not wanting their lead actor to be perceived as “the cheater with a house full of children,” when he’s to be portraying a benevolent character who is set on bringing justice and goodness to the world.

Sources chatted with the news site to reveal the woes of Affleck’s own PR people on the subject of the scandal, and how it may continue to be a stumbling block for the 43-year-old father of three.

“They are freaking about the (expected) plunge in popularity. [Ben’s own PR people are] demanding he play nice with Jennifer to try to repair what they perceive as massive damage to his brand and likability.”

The celebrity news site shares that execs and PR people, along with Ben, himself, are entirely focused on the hit his appeal has taken due to the nanny scandal. False or not, Affleck did not do himself any good by developing a reputation as a cheat and alcoholic leading up to the announcement of the pair’s split. It’s recently been reported that although Affleck and Garner have sought counselling, and Ben had appeared to be making better choices, he could not help returning to his pre-split behavior.

As for Garner, the star has taken on an extremely emotional role since calling it quits with Ben and perhaps was the best character for the beauty to play as a cathartic escape from the emotions that likely plagued her during the split firestorm and nanny scandal. Jen’s latest effort, Miracles From Heaven, is soon to hit theaters, as Entertainment Tonight relays. The newly-released trailer shows the gripping and emotional nature of the film.

Watch footage from behind the scenes while Garner took on her role in Miracles From Heaven.

[Photo by Kevin Winter / Getty Images]