James Devaney/WireImage(LOS ANGELES) — (NOTE LANGUAGE) Ben Affleck revisited his “Bennifer” days and detailed the racism Jennifer Lopez endured during their brief engagement.
Speaking Thursday to The Hollywood Reporter for its Awards Chatter podcast to promote his upcoming film The Way Back, the 48-year-old actor recalled the abuse tabloids hurled at Lopez when news broke of their romance.
“There’s always a story of the month, and me dating Jennifer Lopez happened to be that tabloid story at the time,” the Gone Girl star explained. “They needed something to write about and we were that thing.”
“People were so f****** mean about her… sexist, racist,” Affleck continued. “Vicious s*** was written about her in ways that, if you wrote it now, you would literally be fired.”
“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,” the two-time Oscar winner quipped, noting how hard Lopez worked to be where she is today.
Added Affleck, “I would say you have a better shot — coming 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.”
The two began dating in the early 2000s and announced their engagement in 2002. During their whirlwind romance, they starred in two movies together, Jersey Girl and Gigli. Lopez even invited Affleck to star alongside her in her 2002 music video “Jenny from the Block.”
The couple were set to wed in 2003, but postponed their nuptials and, the following year, ended their relationship.
By Megan Stone
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