[CULTURE AND ENTERTAINMENT ★]
A STALKER TRIED TO KILL BEN AFFLECK’S FAMILY
(P1) Ben Affleck’s main PRIORITY is to protect his family.
(P2) The actor revealed in an interview that he had a TERRIFYING RUN-IN with a PAPARAZZO involving his two daughters, Serafina and Violet.
(P3) “It’s wrong and DISGUSTING to follow children around and take their picture and sell it for money. It makes the kids less safe,” he told the magazine. “They used to take pictures of our children coming out of preschool, and so this STALKER who had threatened to kill me, my wife, and our kids showed up at the school and got arrested…there are real dangers to this.”
(P4) When asked how close the stalker got, Affleck answered, “He was in the pack of paparazzi. They didn’t know he was a guy who was threatening to murder our family. That makes me angry. It’s a safety thing, and there’s also a SANITY thing.”
(P5) The actor continued, “My kids aren’t CELEBRITIES. They never made that BARGAIN. We were offered a lot of money to sell pictures of our kids when they were born. You’ll notice there aren’t any. I make no judgment about people who decide differently…but for me it was A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE.”
(P6) The Oscar winner also shared that his children are frightened by the photographers who follow them on a daily basis.
(P7) “As their father it’s my job to protect them from that stuff. I try my very best, and sometimes I’m successful. The tragic thing is, people who see pictures of celebrities’ children in the media naturally think it’s sweet. They don’t see the GIGANTIC man with a huge camera standing over a four-year-old and screaming to get the kid’s attention,” Affleck explained.
(P8) “The kids are always looking down because they’re FREAKED OUT and scared of these people. Paparazzi yelling at Lindsay Lohan coming out of a club, or me or any adult – that’s one thing. With kids it’s TASTELESS at best.”
WORDS: 322
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
If you found the passage difficult to read or had problems understanding specific words or idiomatic expressions, please discuss them with your tutor. The following discussion questions should be answered in your own words and with your own arguments.
- Briefly summarize the content of the article in your own words.
- What do you think it would be like to be the child of a celebrity? Good or bad?
- What is the motivation of the paparazzi?
- Princess Diana of Great Britain died in a car crash while being chased by paparazzi. Has fame become too dangerous?
- Would you like to be famous yourself?
EXPRESSIONS TO PRACTICE:
What do the following expressions mean? Practice using each expression in a sentence; extra points if you can use it in conversation.
- Run-in
- A matter of principle
- Freak out
