Let us be clear right up front:
To each his own.
This is even more so the case when it comes to tattoos.
It’s your body, folks. It’s your skin. Go ahead and permanently etch whatever you’d like on it.
The only caveat is this…
… you must expect some feedback, especially if the tattoo is a prominent place and especially if you’re a famous person.
This is all a preamble for us to talk, once again about Ben Affleck’s massive back tattoo.
You know the one to which were referring, right? That huge, rainbow-colored tattoo of a phoenix, which spans the actor’s entire back?
Yeah. That one.
The marking was unveiled last March when Affleck was hanging on a Hawaiian beach with his Triple Frontier co-stars, Charlie Hunam, Garrett Hedlund and Oscar Isaac.
And it didn’t exactly draw a positive response from, well, anyone.
Affleck acknowledged as much during an appearance on Ellen this week.
But still…
"I like it," he told the comedian, explaining in more detail:
"It’s something I sort of kept private. It wasn’t like I was sort of doing photo shoots or whatever. We were two hours north of the city on some island in Hawaii and we didn’t know paparazzi was there.
"So they got a picture of my tattoo and yeah the sentiment ran, you know, against."
Adds the actor:
"I was like, I love my tattoo. I’m very happy with it. Luckily I’m the one who has it."
That’s a great point. It’s basically what we said up top.
Affleck, of course, has been through a lot of late.
He’s no longer Batman, but he is hopefully on a path to sobriety.
He discussed the latter topic, including a recent stint in rehab, during this same sit-down.
"You know, it’s interesting. It’s like there’s temptation to get… depressed. I could feel like, oh I’ve been through a lot and this was hard and that was hard or I could be kind of embarrassed," he said.
"But, I have to say, I feel so good now.
"I’m in such a great place. Kids are healthy. You know, life is good. And so it’s like whatever it took for me to get to this place, you know, I’m grateful for it."
Watch excerpts from the interview here.