If you're going to permanently ink your skin, you should make sure you're happy with the design. Although it's possible to remove a tattoo with lasers, that treatment is expensive and can take many appointments before it fades away. Personally, I have one tattoo, of the Wu-Tang Clan's "W" symbol, and no, I am not joking. I have no regrets, because I'm still a fan after over twenty years. And my sister bolstered her nerd credentials by getting a Harry Potter "dark mark" tattoo and a Lord of the Rings tattoo (the word "hobbit" in Elvish). Pretty awesome. Everybody might not get it, but as long as you love it, that's all that matters.
Ben Affleck has had quite a comeback. He impressed us all with his acting in Good Will Hunting and Shakespeare In Love - and he helped Bruce Willis save the world from a giant asteroid in Armageddon. But after starring in the notorious rom-com flop Gigli, as well as the superhero franchise non-starter Daredevil, he became a national punchline. Now he's come back as a talented director with the Oscar-winning Argo and he is the new Batman. When Ben Affleck was first cast as Batman, people skeptical, but I think we all can agree, he has been a highlight of the DC movies.
But while Batman is the epitome of cool, some people think Ben Affleck's back tattoo is pretty lame. The actor got inked with a giant phoenix, which covers his back from shoulder to shoulder. It is giant. He got the tatt a couple years ago, so it isn't exactly new, but weirdly, he lied about it. In a 2016 interview with Extra, he said it was "fake for a movie." (Um, what movie was that?) But somebody spotted Ben at the beach, and he still has the ridiculous design on his back, so obviously it's real. On Twitter, people savagely mocked him.
I can't believe Batman lied to us.
It's not a terrible pun.
The tattoo can't be all-bad if it's bringing people happiness.
Ben Affleck's famous exes have even commented on the tattoo. On Watch What Happens Live, Andy Cohen asked Jennifer what she thought about it. "It’s awful! What are you doing?" exclaimed J-Lo. "His tattoos always have too many colors, they shouldn’t be so colorful. They should be cooler." And in an interview with Vanity Fair, Jennifer Garner said, "You know what we would say in my hometown about that? ‘Bless his heart.’ A phoenix rising from the ashes. Am I the ashes in this scenario? I take umbrage. I refuse to be the ashes."
Well, as long as Ben Affleck is happy with his phoenix, that's all that matters. It is a pretty cool symbol and could be seen representing his career. It could be worse - he could have gotten a huge back tattoo of Matt Damon.
In a related story, everyone thinks Joe Jonas just got a large tattoo of Sophie Turner on his body...