Gwyneth Stands by Ben in Court

December 28, 1999
http://mrshowbiz.go.com/news/Todays_Stories/991228/affleckpaltrow122899.html


In the ongoing saga to determine whether onetime lovebirds Ben Affleck
and Gwyneth Paltrow are, indeed, dating again, we offer the following
evidence.

When the strapping Armageddon star had to make an appearance in a
Massachusetts courthouse to pay a fine for driving with a suspended
license, who should accompany him but the talented Ms. Paltrow?

Perhaps it's the least she could do. It was while he was heading out
to catch Paltrow in Shakespeare's As You Like It at the nearby
Williamstown Theatre Festival, that the actor was caught speeding
through the town of Lee, Mass., last August. Affleck's lawyer David
Hoose said Monday that the actor actually had a valid California
license and was unaware his license was suspended in Massachusetts.

Affleck was born in Berkeley, Calif., but was raised in Cambridge,
Mass. (hence the authentic Boston accent in Good Will Hunting. His
license was suspended in Massachusetts because of unpaid traffic
violations, according to the New York Daily News.

The New York paper also reports that the glamorous pair showed up
two hours early for Affleck's court date and politely paid his $135
in fines. They also stayed for half an hour, posing for pictures,
signing some autographs, and gabbing with some of the courtroom staff.

"Ben was treated the same way anyone else would have been treated for
this type of infraction," Hoose tells the Daily News.

And the clincher, for you Ben-and-Gwyn watchers: Hoose referred to
Paltrow as Affleck's "girlfriend." The on-again off-again pair
reportedly broke up a year ago, New Year's Day, but have been oh-so-
chummy since their reported split. The two are so much a twosome, in
fact, that rumor mongers have Affleck pegged as the next Batman,
Paltrow as the next Catwoman, and buddy Matt Damon as the next Boy
Wonder.