Hollywood stars Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner’s daughter denounces US mask bans

LOS ANGELES – Violet Affleck, daughter of Hollywood stars Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck, was photographed by the paparazzi in June walking in Los Angeles with her mother.

In the photos, she was wearing an N95 face mask, as she often does in public. Perhaps not remarkable in and of itself, but some online had questions.

“Why does Violet Affleck always wear a mask? Explained,” promised one recent headline.

The article speculated that privacy, an indeterminate medical condition and “personal expression” could be among the reasons for her choice.

On July 9, the 18-year-old appeared to offer an answer. Speaking during the public comment portion of a meeting of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, she revealed why she wears a mask while also demanding greater public access to masks.

“I contracted a post-viral condition in 2019,” she said. “I’m okay now, but I saw first-hand that medicine does not always have answers to the consequences of even minor viruses.”

Speaking briskly – her whole speech clocked in at just 59 seconds – she warned about the risks of long Covid-19, a serious medical condition that can cause brain fog, chronic fatigue and other health issues, and is thought to affect millions of Americans.

Violet, a recent high school graduate who appears to be bound for Yale University in autumn, called on officials to make masks available in government buildings, hospitals and jails.

“I demand mask availability, air filtration and far UV-C light in government facilities, including jails and detention centres, and mask mandates in county medical facilities,” she said.

“We must expand the availability of high-quality free tests and treatment and, most importantly, the county must oppose mask bans for any reason.”

It is unclear if this was the first time Violet addressed her concerns publicly to an elected body.

Representatives for American actors Ben Affleck and Garner – who married in 2005 and divorced in 2018 – did not immediately respond to requests for comment on July 10. The pair share two other children aged 12 and 15.

More than four years since the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the world with millions of deaths and prolonged lockdowns, many are still wearing masks to fight the spread of the virus, while most have resumed regular, mask-free programming.

Masks are proven to protect against the transmission of Covid-19 and other airborne viruses.

Violet’s concerns about Covid-19 have been apparent this year before this meeting.

In May, she was captured in paparazzi photos wearing a mask and carrying the book, The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality And Disease Collide (2022), by American journalist Steven Thrasher, who writes about the disproportionate impact of diseases on marginalised communities. He also posted the photo on X.

Photographers captured her carrying a face mask in June, when she was having lunch with American singer-actress Jennifer Lopez, her father’s wife. And in 2023, the teen was spotted by a fan wearing an N95 mask while attending a Broadway play with her father and Lopez, who did not appear to be wearing masks.

Violet may be responding to recent discussion about potential mask bans that local leaders across the country have been weighing out of concern that people are using them to conceal their identities.

Governor Kathy Hochul of New York said in June that she and her team had begun to consider reinstating a pre-pandemic ban on face masks on the subway to combat crime, citing a recent increase in anti-Semitism.

Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles also announced in June that officials were looking at possibly banning masks at protests in response to pro-Palestinian protests in the city, despite a recent rise in Covid-19 cases in the area. NYTIMES