--- title: Matt Damon Defends Ben Affleck's Right to Have a Back Tattoo description: Matt Damon weighed in on Ben Affleck's infamous back tattoo, which the actor had previously said was fake but appears to be real. canonical: https://time.com/5212486/matt-damon-defends-ben-affleck-back-tattoo/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-03-23T15:36:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T09:03:53.392Z og:title: Matt Damon Defends Ben Affleck's Right to Have a Back Tattoo og:description: "I support him in all of his ‘artistic expression.’ ” og:url: https://time.com/5212486/matt-damon-defends-ben-affleck-back-tattoo/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a14b7a5177719d2/69892bc84ee262a0ef311496/matt-damon-ben-affleck-back-tattoo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: Premiere Of Warner Bros. Pictures' "Live By Night" - Red Carpet og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Matt Damon Defends Ben Affleck's Right to Have a Back Tattoo twitter:description: "I support him in all of his ‘artistic expression.’ ” twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a14b7a5177719d2/69892bc84ee262a0ef311496/matt-damon-ben-affleck-back-tattoo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Matt Damon Defends BFF Ben Affleck's Right to Tattoo His Own Back However He Wants > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with Ally. Ally is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: July 2026. ## Ally: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Ally is a digital financial services company offering online-only banking, including checking and savings accounts, through Ally.com and its mobile apps. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: Matt Damon Breaks his Silence on Ben Affleck's Newly Revealed Tattoo [Watch (HLS stream): Matt Damon Breaks his Silence on Ben Affleck's Newly Revealed Tattoo](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/YrfB2mHQ.m3u8) (1:02)  _Published 2018-03-23. Matt Damon broke his silence on Ben Affleck’s newly revealed tattoo_  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Mar 23, 2018 3:36 PM UTC Matt Damon broke his silence on Ben Affleck’s newly revealed tattoo  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Mar 23, 2018 3:36 PM UTC [Matt Damon](http://time.com/5104248/matt-damon-me-too/) is taking a stand for [bestie Ben Affleck](http://time.com/4716515/matt-damon-ben-affleck-mr-mom/)‘s right to tattoo his back, no matter how large or colorful the ink. The infamous back tattoo, a colorful phoenix that takes up the majority of Affleck’s back, made headlines when it was [spotted in the summer of 2015](http://people.com/movies/inside-ben-afflecks-giant-back-tattoo-took-hours-hours-finish/) following his [divorce from Jennifer Garner](http://time.com/4739528/ben-affleck-jennifer-garner-divorce/). In 2016, Affleck told [_Extra_](http://people.com/movies/ben-affleck-reveals-his-massive-back-tattoo-is-fake-for-a-movie/) that the ink was “fake for a movie,” but hype surrounding the massive tattoo resurged when the actor was [spotted last week](http://people.com/movies/ben-affleck-shows-off-back-tattoo-after-claiming-fake/) training shirtless for his upcoming movie _Triple Frontier_. In an interview with Trevor Noah on _The Daily Show_, Damon weighed in on Affleck’s distinctive ink. “It’s not one man’s job to tell another man what he can do to his back,” he said. “I support him in all of his ‘artistic expression.’ ” Damon’s answer was more diplomatic than both of Affleck’s exes, Jennifer Garner and Jennifer Lopez. Jennifer Garner was candid in her thoughts about the very large tattoo in a 2016 [_Vanity Fair_](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/02/jennifer-garner-talks-kids-career-ben-affleck)feature. “You know what we would say in my hometown about that? ‘Bless his heart,’” she said. “A phoenix rising from the ashes. Am I the ashes in this scenario? I take umbrage. I refuse to be the ashes.” Jennifer Lopez, the original Jennifer in Bennifer, didn’t mince her words when it came to her critique of the tattoo during an episode of [_Watch What Happens Live_.](http://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/ben-affleck-back-tattoo-jennifer-lopez-reacts) “It’s awful! What are you doing?” The actress also added that “his tattoos always have too many colors, they shouldn’t be so colorful. They should be cooler.” > [](https://twitter.com/LittleMissLizz/status/976150923243376640) ## Transcript [00:45] [ MUSIC ] [ SOUND ] [00:55] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [01:01] [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5212486/matt-damon-defends-ben-affleck-back-tattoo/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5212486/matt-damon-defends-ben-affleck-back-tattoo/"},"headline":"Matt Damon Defends BFF Ben Affleck's Right to Tattoo His Own Back However He Wants","datePublished":"2018-03-23T15:36:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-12T09:03:53.392Z","description":"\"I support him in all of his ‘artistic expression.’ ”","url":"https://time.com/5212486/matt-damon-defends-ben-affleck-back-tattoo/","keywords":["Newsfeed","celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a14b7a5177719d2/69892bc84ee262a0ef311496/matt-damon-ben-affleck-back-tattoo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a14b7a5177719d2/69892bc84ee262a0ef311496/matt-damon-ben-affleck-back-tattoo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Premiere Of Warner Bros. 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