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---
title: Ben Affleck Is Not Done Defending His Elaborate Back Tattoo
description: People have made fun of Ben Affleck&#x27;s back tattoo for years. But he&#x27;s still defending it on &#x27;The Ellen DeGeneres Show&#x27;
canonical: https://time.com/5551725/ben-affleck-on-back-tattoo/
author: Rachel E. Greenspan
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article:content_tier: free
article:published_time: 2019-03-14T17:26:47.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:58:05.404Z
og:title: Ben Affleck Is Not Done Defending His Elaborate Back Tattoo
og:description: &#x27;Luckily, I’m the one who has it&#x27;
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twitter:title: Ben Affleck Is Not Done Defending His Elaborate Back Tattoo
twitter:description: &#x27;Luckily, I’m the one who has it&#x27;
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# 'I Love My Tattoo.' Ben Affleck Is Not Done Defending His Elaborate Back Tattoo

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by 

[Rachel E. Greenspan](https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/)


## Rachel E. Greenspan


Mar 14, 2019 5:26 PM UTC

by 

[Rachel E. Greenspan](https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/)


## Rachel E. Greenspan


Mar 14, 2019 5:26 PM UTC

As far as crazy Hollywood tattoos go, [Ben Affleck](http://time.com/5530461/ben-affleck-on-jimmy-kimmel/)‘s back tattoo of a phoenix is infamous. But he’s not giving up on defending it any time soon. The [_Argo_ star](http://time.com/5530424/jimmy-kimmel-batman/) opened up about the tattoo on [Thursday’s episode](https://people.com/style/ben-affleck-loves-his-massive-back-phoenix-tattoo/) of _The Ellen DeGeneres Show._ 

“I love my tattoo. I’m very happy with it,” Affleck told DeGeneres. “Luckily, I’m the one who has it.”

Since the [ink’s debut dating back to 2015](http://time.com/5220678/ben-affleck-new-yorker-tweet-response-back-tattoo/), when paparazzi caught a photo of the actor from behind on a beach, nobody’s been quite sure why the _Argo_ star had such art on his body. People raised eyebrows again last year when photos of him in Hawaii surfaced online, again showing the ink.

“It’s meaningful to me, I like it,” Affleck said.

> [](https://twitter.com/LittleMissLizz/status/976150923243376640)

The phoenix rising above the ashes may represent his own experience after a public divorce from Jennifer Garner. Garner herself commented on the tattoo in a [2016 interview](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/02/jennifer-garner-talks-kids-career-ben-affleck) with _Vanity Fair:_ “Am I the ashes in this scenario?” Affleck told Mario Lopez on _Extra_ in 2016 that the tattoo was “fake,” and “for a role.”

But fans on Twitter breathed a sigh of relief at the actor’s honesty last year when he admitted to having the tattoo, in response to a [_New Yorker_ article](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-appearances/the-great-sadness-of-ben-affleck) that posited a deep sadness within Affleck’s deep sadness within him. “I’m doing just fine,” he wrote.


> [](https://twitter.com/BenAffleck/status/979371324979245056)

DeGeneres also spoke to Affleck about his charity work with his organization, the Eastern Congo Initiative.

Watch Ben Affleck on _Ellen_ below.

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