Violet Affleck, the 19-year-old daughter of actors Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, stole the show at the United Nations on Tuesday. She gave an incredibly compelling speech about the long-term impacts of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Affleck now attends Yale University and has been an advocate for stricter clean air regulations, emphasizing their importance in protecting public health. Her deep engagement has helped her emerge as a leading voice on these vital issues.
Violet Affleck wears an N95 mask onstage while speaking. She emphasized the role of health interventions in lessening the impact of the pandemic. She stated, “I represent a generation that in many ways already knows how we’ve been failed.” She put a heavy focus on her worries regarding long-term impacts of COVID-19 on our nation’s youth. Further, she emphasized the need for immediate, smart public health-centered policies.
Affleck’s academic involvement is significant. In May of this year, she published a research paper titled “A Chronically Ill Earth: COVID Organizing as a Model Climate Response in Los Angeles” in the Yale Global Health Review. This paper compares COVID-19 with responses to climate change and highlights the consequences of inaction. This gives center stage to her hauntingly beautiful observations during the epic Los Angeles wildfires in January.
Affleck’s research underscores that children can have symptoms months after a SARS-CoV-2 infection. This alarming finding speaks to the long-term impact of the virus on our youngest patients. She expressed deep concern for future generations, stating, “I am terrified for the children who do not or soon will not know a world without debilitating pain and exhaustion.” This sentiment strikes a chord with anyone who’s seen the pandemic’s effects on young people.
Violet Affleck’s activism goes beyond her speech at the United Nations. In July 2024, she addressed the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, arguing against mask bans amid ongoing COVID-19 cases. She is firmly committed to educating the public about health violations. This commitment is the result of her family’s deep engagement in community dialogue over the pandemic and clean air efforts.
The young activist emphasized the importance of clean air access, asserting, “We can recognize filtered air as a human right as intuitively as we do filtered water.” That’s the kind of future Affleck imagines, one inspired by clean air and clean air infrastructure. In this future, it’s the baseline expectation—for every child, every time. “We can create clean air infrastructure that is so ubiquitous and so obviously necessary,” she stated, “tomorrow’s children don’t even know why we need it.”
Violet Affleck’s impactful speech at the United Nations was streamed live on UN Web TV, capturing the attention of global viewers and further solidifying her role as an advocate for public health and environmental justice.
