Ben Affleck is defending his decision to shut down his son’s request for a pair of $6,000 Dior Air Force 1s.
The two were spotted at a sneaker convention earlier this month when Affleck’s son Samuel was caught eyeing a rare Dior collaboration with Nike.
“They’re tough! I always said they look good,” Samuel said as he ogled the sneakers and namedropped them as one of his favourites along with Nike’s Red October release.
“That’s a lot of lawns you gotta mow there,” the two-time Oscar winner joked when he saw the jaw-dropping price tag.
When Access Hollywoodcaught up with the actor at the SXSW premiere of his upcoming movie The Accountant 2, Affleck was asked about the viral exchange and the actor doubled down on his decision to not open his wallet to buy Samuel the shoes.
“That’s what happens when you tell a motherf—– they have to mow a lawn,” he told the outlet. “All of a sudden they don’t want those shoes, and he was like, ‘But I always said they were tough.’”
Affleck asked the reporter if she had any children before laughingly continuing his rant. “It’s always some grift why I need to be buying … I’m like, ‘You do not need $1,000 shoes.’ He’s like, ‘We have the money.’ I’m like, ‘I have the money — you’re broke.’ “
Affleck also shares daughters Seraphina, 16, and Violet, 19, with his ex-wife Jennifer Garner.
Nike’s partnership with Dior began in 2020 with a coveted co-branded release of the sports apparel maker’s Air Jordan line.
At the time a press release said, “The collection balances timeless silhouettes from the Jordan and Dior vaults while bringing new life to classic sport styles. These pieces bring together the House’s exceptional tailoring expertise with a 1980s American sportswear feel inspired by the legendary Michael Jordan.”
According to GQ, the shoes were made in Italy with Italian leather and hand-painted edges, and came personally numbered, with only 8,500 pairs made available worldwide.
Affleck is a noted sneaker fan, having turned his love of fashion into 2023’s Air, a movie that recounted the story of how Nike signed basketball star Michael Jordan to his first signature shoe deal in 1984.