Reni van Maren/Sunshine/ZUMA
Damon, 33, tells Playboy magazine in its August issue that the perception in some quarters that Bennifer was really nothing but a publicity stunt was wrong. "What (those cynics) never understood was that Ben is too smart not to know that being in that relationship was the worst thing for his career. He stayed in it because he loved her ... he was actually embarrassed by the attention."
Damon, whose new movie The Bourne Supremacy opens July 23, says that, as a pal of Affleck's, all he was left to do was "support your friend, support the relationship and talk sh-- about the people who are writing things."
Of his own relationship with interior director Luciana Barroso, Damon says, "I'm very happy. ... Casey Affleck, Ben's brother, is about to have a baby, and I saw how everything changed with my brother (Kyle, 37) when his kids came. I want a family someday (though) the long-distance thing is tough."
Damon also admits that his first star crush was on Cosby Show star Lisa Bonet ("an absolute knockout") and that he and Affleck both "smoke like freight trains," yet he also claims that neither of them has an addictive personality.
As for Affleck's stint in rehab for what was said to have been a drinking problem, Damon says, "Ben made a choice to do something that was extremely preemptive. ... To label him (as an addict) is wrong and just easy and judgmental. He's much more complicated."
