WASHINGTON — Ben Affleck is managing to live a relatively private life in a Hollywood fishbowl.
He’s no longer tailed daily by the paparazzi, as he was when he dated Jennifer Lopez from 2002 to 2004. It was a time when entertainment coverage was starting to explode and the couple were on the cover of every magazine and tabloid, and the top story on TV entertainment shows.
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“I definitely was in a tabloid crosshair,” he said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. “It mucks up your life.”
He described the constant attention as “sort of snarky and venal and kind of overwhelming.”
The paparazzi weren’t going to change their ways, so Affleck changed his life. He married Jennifer Garner, had three kids, and cut down his “compulsive” work schedule.
But not entirely: Affleck was in Washington, D.C., last week to raise awareness for something else he holds dear — his Eastern Congo Initiative to reduce the child mortality rate in the region.
Now, the paparazzi only occasionally take photos of Affleck and Garner when they’re out with Violet, 6, Seraphina, 3, and Sam, 4 months.
“I feel like I have a chance to do the most exciting stuff that I’ve done in my career,” he said. “I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”
Kings of Leon frontman, model wife welcome baby girl
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Victoria’s Secret model Lily Aldridge and Kings of Leon frontman Caleb Followill are the new parents of a baby girl.
The couple welcomed Dixie Pearl Followill on Thursday morning at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn.
Spokesman Ken Weinstein said both Aldridge and the baby are happy and healthy and are resting at their home outside of Nashville.
Dixie Pearl was born at 1 a.m., weighing in at 7 pounds, 11 ounces.
Aldridge, 26, and Followill, 30, married in California in May 2011. Dixie Pearl is their first child.
Elvis’ crypt taken off the auction block
LOS ANGELES — Elvis Presley’s crypt has left the auction block.
Celebrity auctioneer Darren Julien said Friday that his company has agreed not to sell the crypt after fans worldwide demanded that it be kept as a shrine to his memory.
Julien’s Auctions announced in May that it would sell the empty tomb at the Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis, Tenn., at its “Music Icons” auction Sunday. Julien said the company won’t sell the crypt “until Forest Hills finds a plan that best suits the interests of the fans while respecting and preserving the memory of Elvis Presley.”
Presley was interred there alongside his mother, Gladys, after he died on Aug. 16, 1977. Two months later, they were reburied at his Graceland home. The original crypt has remained empty ever since.
Club license at risk after clash between singers’ entourages
NEW YORK — New York state officials say a nightclub that was the site of a bottle-hurling brawl after a dispute between the entourages of singers Drake and Chris Brown could lose its liquor license.
The New York Post reported the State Liquor Authority filed 14 charges Friday against New York City’s W.i.P. nightclub.
The agency said the Manhattan club has been cited for numerous fights, excessive noise and using unlicensed or unprofessional guards, including one accused of selling marijuana to an undercover investigator.
Liquor Authority spokesman William Crowley said the club is in danger of having its license yanked.
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