Additional Coverage:
- Ben Affleck wasn’t at LA home when FBI came knocking, had to ‘track down’ reason for visit (foxnews.com)
Actor Ben Affleck recently recounted a strange encounter with the FBI, sparked by the Palisades fire earlier this year. Photos of FBI agents outside Affleck’s home in January led to media speculation, but Affleck himself was out of the loop. He only learned about the visit through news reports.
“I came home to a story saying the FBI was at my house,” Affleck explained in a GQ interview. “I was like, ‘Well, this is strange.'”
He contacted the FBI seeking clarification, only to be met with initial confusion. Eventually, an agent clarified the situation: a federal official’s home in the area had been burglarized, and the FBI was canvassing the neighborhood.
The presence of agents in their official jackets, coupled with the photographers already stationed outside Affleck’s home due to his celebrity status, created the misleading impression of an FBI investigation targeting the actor.
Adding to the confusion, initial reports linked the FBI’s presence to a drone incident near Mandeville Canyon. However, Affleck clarified that this was unrelated, and his home was far from the drone’s crash site. “My only involvement was to track it down, figure it out,” Affleck stated.
The Palisades and Eaton fires, which ignited on January 7th, caused significant damage, destroying homes and businesses. Affleck confirmed that both his rental home and permanent residence were spared. He expressed frustration with the inaccurate media portrayals of the events, noting how easily public perception can be shaped by misleading reports.