Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner’s daughter Violet stuns with passionate plea
“Thrown into sharper relief”: Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner’s daughter has given an unexpected speech at an official board meeting.
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner’s daughter Violet Affleck is making her voice heard.
The 18-year-old spoke out against mask bans in a passionate speech at a Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, reports Page Six.
While advocating for mask availability, high-quality free COVID-19 testing and “mask mandates in county medical facilities,” Violet revealed she “contracted a post-viral condition in 2019.”
The high school graduate noted, “I’m OK now, but I saw first-hand that medicine does not always have answers to the consequences of even minor viruses. The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown that into sharper relief.
“One in 10 infections leads to long Covid, which is a devastating neurological [and] cardiovascular illness that can take away people’s ability to work, move, see, and even think,” she continued, before concluding with a “demand” to “oppose mask bans for any reason.”
Affleck and Garner’s eldest child explained, “They do not keep us safer, they make vulnerable members of our community less safe and make everyone less able to participate in Los Angeles together.”
Violet, who is often photographed wearing a face covering while out and about with her parents, sported a face mask and a floral dress during her speech at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration.
While some social media users blasted the teen’s testimony, others called her an “amazing leader and role model.”
One wrote, “I’m showing this to my 7 & 9 year old girls as a great example of a smart, thoughtful and self assured young woman 1) doing what she knows is right, even in the face of massive societal pressure to cave 2) using her voice & privilege for the greater good.”
Another pointed out that it was “extremely impressive how much she fit into … one minute.”
Garner, 52, has publicly praised Violet as being “totally in charge” of her future, telling Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos in November 2023 that she acted “like a champ” as her high school graduation approached.
“She’s a self-starter,” the actress tearfully gushed to Live with Kelly and Mark viewers. “And I’m proud of her no matter what.”
The Suddenly 30 star was a “wreck” for a “whole month” ahead of the teenager’s commencement ceremony in May.
She posted Instagram photos of herself crying, writing, “Tell me you have a graduate without telling me you have a graduate. (bless our hearts).”
Garner and Affleck, who are also the parents of Seraphina, 15, and Samuel, 12, celebrated with a June graduation party.
Even Jennifer Lopez attended the bash — albeit, briefly — despite her and Affleck’s looming divorce.
While Violet’s college plans have not been confirmed, she hinted that she’ll be a future Yale University student when she posed in a telling sweatshirt for a recent photo.
Before heading to the Connecticut school, Violet has been spending the summer stepping out with Lopez and her parents.
This article originally appeared in Page Six and was reproduced with permission.