Reality Behind Matt Damon 'Distancing Himself' From Ben Affleck To Salvage Reputation

Matt Damon was not “distancing himself” from Ben Affleck amid the actor’s personal issues, despite rumors. Gossip Cop debunked reports stating there has been fallout between the close friends.

RadarOnline reported Damon was planning “a total overhaul of his social circle” by staying away from friends surrounded by controversies. One of them was Affleck, whospent 40 days in rehab this year.

The website quoted an insider saying, “After being dragged down by his close association with Ben… Matt is making a real effort to fix his good name.”

The report went on to claim Damon was focusing on his friendship with Chris Hemsworth and other people in show biz who have clean-cut images.

“He’s going through a little restlessness in middle age and fixing his image was the kind of challenge he needed right about now. He’s acquiring some stable, ‘normal’ friends he can share the journey with,” the alleged insider added.

However, the entire premise was false as the lifelong friends cheered on their favorite baseball team last week at the game five of the World Series. They cheered on the Red Sox as the team defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers to clinch the title.

In August, days after Affleck checked into rehab, a source told People that Damon “will always be there for Ben.”

Earlier this year, Damon opened up about his friendship with Affleck and also spoke about the latter being just as affected by the death of his father, Kent Damon.

“The guy is like a brother to me and there are ups and downs in life. It was a bad year for him, too. He was very, very close to my father, they had a great relationship. Loved each other a lot. So last year was no real picnic for him either,” he said.

Affleck, who has battled alcohol addicting for long, credited Damon as one of the people who helped him get through his battles with addiction during an interview with Barbara Walters in 2012.

“I had good friends. I had Matt Damon, I had my brother, and I had a nucleus of good friends that I grew up with and I had support from,” he said.

In August, Gossip Cop had debunked another report in the outlet that falsely claimed Damon had “dumped” Affleck as a friend following his latest stint in rehab. An outlet had stated their friendship had deteriorated amid Affleck’s issues with sobriety and Damon will “not be by his side” going forward. The report further claimed the two don’t talk much and rehab was “something Affleck is going to have to do all alone.”

However, Damon and Affleck were not just great friends but were also working on a number of projects together through their joint production company Pearl Street Films. Their upcoming projects include true-crime movie about an ex-cop who rigged McDonald’s Monopoly game. Affleck would be directing the movie, which will star Damon.