Ben Affleck recalls ‘racist, sexist’ criticism of Jennifer Lopez: ‘People were so f****** mean about her’ – Ben Affleck is incredibly proud of what ex-fiancée, Jennifer Lopez, has accomplished — but he’ll never forget the “ugly s***” she dealt with when they were together.
“Bennifer” was one of the biggest celebrity couples of the early aughts, which happened to coincide with the rise of the tabloid industry. It also happened to coincide with some bad Affleck films —Daredevil, Surviving Christmas and Gigli — which the actor reflected on during The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast.
“You know, there’s always a story of the month, and me dating Jennifer Lopez happened to be that tabloid story at the time when that business grew exponentially,” he said. “The tabloids exploded, the internet started… they needed something to write about and we were that thing.”
When it came to his romance with Lopez, their two-year relationship ending in 2004, Affleck said they were the Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor of the time.
“Particularly in that case, at first it was like Dick and Liz. It was sort of this infatuation, ‘What an interesting couple!’ Then there was a ton of resentment,” he explained.
Lopez received the brunt of that resentment in the tabloid press which Affleck called “reckless and irresponsible.”
“The irony is not lost on me that Jennifer now — people were so f****** mean about her. Sexist, racist. Ugly, vicious s*** was written about her in ways that if you wrote it now, you would literally be fired for saying those things you said. Now it’s like, she’s lionized and respected for the work she did, where she came from, what she accomplished — as well she f****** should be!”
Affleck, who is still friends with Lopez, continued, “I would say you have a better chance from the Bronx, of ending up as like [Justice Sonia] Sotomayor on the Supreme Court than you do of having Jennifer Lopez’s career and being who she is at 50 years old today. Not that one has more value than the other, just on a pure odds level, pure hard work. I don’t think I met anybody that worked harder than Jennifer Lopez.”
Called “America’s Number ONE Gossip Columnist” by The National Enquirer. Rob ‘Naughty But Nice’ Shuter breaks celebrity news every day on his website NaughtyGossip.com where he delivers all the dish about the stars we love in his naughty but nice signature style. You can also catch him co-hosting and breaking celebrity news on Good Day New York, The Today Show, The Talk, Wendy Williams Show, CNN, Extra and Z100’s ‘Elvis Duran.’ Previously, Rob was the Huffington Post’s only celebrity columnist and the former executive editor of OK! Magazine. Rob has also hosted his own Saturday night talk show on Mark Cuban’s channel and his own daily morning show, ‘The Gossip Table,’ on VH1! He just celebrated his one-year anniversary on Radio Rob – his subscription-based daily live podcast gossip show! Breaking some of the biggest entertainment stories, including Jamie Lynn Spears’s pregnancy news, Britney’s first post-meltdown interview, Eva Longoria’s wedding, and baby exclusives for Jessica Alba, Tori Spelling and Mathew McConaughey’s tots, Rob always knows where to find the best scoop. Before Rob was one of the world’s most successful entertainment reporters, he was a publicist working for Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys, P. Diddy, Jessica Simpson and Jon Bon Jovi! Now he is bringing all this experience to his new show on I HEART MEDIA in his unique cheeky way, that is always a pinch and never a punch!
Ben Affleck recalls ‘racist, sexist’ criticism! Ben Affleck recalls ‘racist, sexist’ criticism