Ben Affleck’s battle to stay sober is back in the public eye.
The Cambridge native was spotted by TMZ looking unsteady on his feet while wearing a Halloween mask in Los Angeles over the weekend, with the gossip site publishing video of the actor stumbling before clutching a car to maintain his balance on Saturday night.
When paparazzi caught up with Affleck on Sunday morning, the actor admitted to a “slip” before heading into what multiple publications reported was the house of his ex-wife, Jennifer Garner.
“It happens. It was a slip,” Affleck said. “But I’m not going to let it derail me.”
On the same day Affleck was spotted by paparazzi, the actor discussed his sobriety on Instagram, asking his followers to donate to The Midnight Mission, a Los Angeles-based non-profit that helps homeless individuals and others who “have lost direction.”
In the same post, the actor also acknowledged that he has been dating, seemingly alluding to a Page Six article that unearthed his profile on Raya, an exclusive, members-only app used for dating and professional networking by those in the entertainment industry.
“HA, you got me. I’m dating,” Affleck wrote. “But let’s be serious for a moment and talk about something that is actually important. I have been in recovery for over a year and part of that is helping out others. @themidnightmission is an incredible organization that helps those in need with housing, training, development and recovery. I’m making a donation today because there are people battling addiction every day that don’t have the resources and need help.”
Kevin Slane can be reached at [email protected].