Ben Affleck Says Jennifer Lopez ‘Should Have Been Nominated’ For ‘Hustlers’

Ben Affleck has nothing but respect for ex-fiancée Jennifer Lopez and thinks she was totally snubbed during the recent awards season.

The actor was featured in an interview published earlier this month in The New York Times and talked candidly about his struggles with alcohol as well as his divorce from Jennifer Garner. But reporter Brooks Barnes has shared some snippets from his talk with Affleck that didn’t make it into the final piece.

One of those tidbits was about Lopez, whom Affleck met on the set of “Gigli” in 2002. The pair were briefly engaged, but broke it off in early 2004.



Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez met on the set of “Gigli” in 2002.

The 47-year-old seems to harbor no ill will toward his former flame, telling Barnes that Lopez “should have been nominated” for an Academy Award for her role as Ramona in “Hustlers.”

“She’s the real thing,” he said. “I keep in touch periodically with her and have a lot of respect for her.”

Affleck also marveled at Lopez having her “biggest hit movie at 50,” calling her “fucking baller.” 

The actor, who grew up in Boston, stars in the upcoming “The Way Back,” in which his character struggles with alcohol addiction and its consequences. He made headlines last week for telling the Times in the interview that the “biggest regret of my life is this divorce” with Garner. 

“Shame is really toxic. There is no positive byproduct of shame. It’s just stewing in a toxic, hideous feeling of low self-worth and self-loathing,” he told the publication.

He later appeared on “Good Morning America,” divulging more on the topic to co-anchor Diane Sawyer and explaining how devastating the divorce was for him.

“I never thought I was going to get divorced,” he said. “I didn’t want to get divorced, I didn’t want to be a divorced person. I really didn’t want to be a split family with my children. It upset me because it meant I wasn’t who I thought I was and that was so painful and so disappointing … In myself.”



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