One bold reporter confronted Jennifer Lopez about rumors that she and Ben Affleck are splitting up after two years of marriage. They didn’t get their scoop.
Instead, Lopez chided the reporter for the question, according to video published by TMZ. On Wednesday, Lopez appeared on a panel in Mexico City to discuss her new sci-fi Netflix film “Atlas” with co-star Simu Liu and director Brad Peyton. When the panel opened up for audience questions, one journalist off-camera took the opportunity to ask the singer-actor-producer, “Is your divorce with Ben Affleck … real?”
Some attendees groaned at the question, as Liu quickly jumped in with, “OK, we’re not doing that.” Lopez initially scoffed at the inquiry, then addressed the reporter directly.
“You know better than that,” she said, leaning forward in her seat.
“Come on, don’t come in here with that energy, please. Thank you so much,” Liu added.
Speculation about a Bennifer divorce surfaced earlier this month as several tabloids, citing unnamed sources, reported that the celebrity spouses were facing marital issues. Also fueling the rumors were Affleck’s absence from the 2024 Met Gala, where Lopez was a co-chair, and the “Let’s Get Loud” singer’s house-hunting outing with a longtime collaborator. Amid the rumors, TMZ published photos of Affleck and Lopez both still wearing their wedding rings.
Representatives for Lopez and Affleck did not respond immediately Thursday to The Times’ separate requests for comment.
Lopez and Affleck were previously betrothed in the early aughts but famously called off their engagement. In 2021, the duo rekindled their romance, then got married in 2022. Since then, Lopez has tapped into her love life for the over-the-top rollout of her album “This Is Me … Now,” a spiritual successor to her 2002 release, “This Is Me … Then.”
Lopez’s “This Is Me … Now” era also touts a self-funded musical movie, a documentary about making that movie and a tour that will kick off in Orlando, Fla., on June 26. She will play Southern California in July.
In February, Lopez spoke about the support she received from her husband about her abstract “This Is Me … Now: A Love Story” movie, in which she personally invested $20 million.
“He said, ‘You made a movie. For you. You made a great movie. You did it,’” Lopez told Variety. “Honestly, I don’t care what happens now. That is the biggest kind of compliment that I could get.”
Currently Lopez and Affleck are both working on separate films. As the singer promotes “Atlas” and prepares for her upcoming tour, Affleck is reportedly filming the untitled sequel to “The Accountant” in Los Angeles.