Actor Joe Manganiello's memoir Bloodlines details illness, family rift and Batman plot
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The gist
Actor Joe Manganiello's memoir Bloodlines recounts his seven-year illness and 13-year estrangement from his father.
The book also reveals the plot of Ben Affleck's scrapped Batman film.
Background
Joe Manganiello is an actor known for True Blood and Magic Mike who played the DC villain Deathstroke in Justice League and has now published a memoir, Bloodlines. The book traces his seven-year battle with an autoimmune illness, his spiritual search and his family history, which he links back to his family's murder in the Armenian Genocide. It is drawing attention now because of the personal disclosures in it and because Manganiello has been discussing them in interviews, including on CBS Mornings with Gayle King.
How it unfolded
- 2015 -11Manganiello and actress Sofía Vergara married.
- 2017Justice League was released, in which Manganiello briefly appeared as the DC supervillain Deathstroke.
- Jul 2023Manganiello and Vergara announced their separation after seven years of marriage.
- 2024Their divorce was finalized.
- 2025Manganiello got engaged to actress Caitlin O'Connor.
- Oct 12, 2026Manganiello appeared on CBS Mornings with Gayle King to discuss his memoir Bloodlines.
- Oct 16, 2026A CBS Pittsburgh/KDKA interview aired in which he discussed his seven-year health battle and spiritual journey.
- Oct 17, 2026 -18, 2026Reports published his account of Ben Affleck's scrapped Batman film plot and of his 13-year estrangement from his father Charles.
- Oct 19, 2026A report published his claim that Sofía Vergara refused to hug him during his illness.
Who’s saying what
- Manganiello
- He says he shared his illness story because hiding it became too difficult, and that since the book came out he has been inundated with stories of how it is helping people.
- Manganiello
- He writes that his father Charles changed his phone number and later emailed calling him a disappointment, and that his father never visited him while he was fighting for his life.
Still unverified
Manganiello says a Cuban shaman told him one of Vergara's former partners had allegedly placed a curse on him; this is presented as the shaman's explanation, not a verified fact. Manganiello's claim that Vergara refused to hug him during his illness is his account in the book, with no response from Vergara reported. Entertainment Weekly sought comment from representatives for Affleck and DC; no comment is reported.