Ben Affleck’s Stripper Scandal Allegedly Leading To Jennifer Lopez 2003 Split Resurfaces; Columnist Says ‘Bennifer’ Reunion Doomed
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck's first separation had something to do with the latter's alleged infidelity, according to a columnist.
Maureen Callahan, a columnist for the Daily Mail, weighed in on Affleck and Lopez's relationship amid rumors that they were going through a marital crisis. According to her, the couple dubbed "Bennifer" was doomed from the start.
"Everyone saw this coming -- except, it seems, Ben and J.Lo," Callahan wrote.
She also noted Affleck's previous statement about their first split in early 2000. The "Batman" actor told Howard Stern that "about 50 percent [of what destroyed our relationship]" was the excessive media attention.
"The other 50 percent must have been the reports that while filming in Canada, weeks before their wedding -- and mere hours after their lovey-dovey 'Dateline' interview aired -- Affleck had allegedly performed oral sex on a stripper, in a strip club, in front of his co-stars," Callahan added.
While engaged to Lopez in 2003, Affleck reportedly joined his party pals Christian Slater and Tara Reid for a night with strippers at Brandi's Exotic Nightclub in Vancouver. Affleck allegedly performed oral sex on multiple women during a July 17 party bender, Radar Online reported. An online user also mentioned the alleged sexual escapade in a forum discussing Lopez and Affleck's rumored split in 2003.
Affleck's ex, Gwyneth Paltrow, previously shared about her intimate moment with Affleck when they were together on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, saying it was "technically excellent." Slate's own How to Do It advice columnist Rich Juzwiak shared his take on Paltrow's statement and what it probably meant, hinting that it might be linked to oral sex.
"When I think of 'technically excellent,' I always think of stamina and athleticism. It's about form," Juzwiak explained. "One could make the argument that it also includes consideration for one's partner -- say, a willingness to give oral (which many men do not consider a necessity) or to refrain from finishing before one's partner does (in the case of men, whose orgasms tend to halt penetrative sex, at least temporarily) or, at minimum, to keep engaged after you come to assist in facilitating your partner's orgasm (by manual or oral sex)."
One of the strippers who allegedly cavorted with Affleck, costing him his engagement to Lopez, spoke about the incident with National Enquirer. Tammy Morris said Affleck picked her and three other lap dancers up in an exotic nightclub.
"It's a night I'll never forget, and I'm sure one he'll want to forget," Morris said. "He had this little boy look on his face."
She added that Affleck kissed her while "his hands were moving all over my body." He reportedly did the same with another dancer named Felicia, and the incident was being watched by security staff on a monitor.
Slater reportedly invited them to his house, and Affleck continued with the night of fun.
"I positioned myself right by him on the bed," Morris added. "He started to caress me. Then he started to give me oral sex. I couldn't believe it! It wasn't the greatest I've ever had, but it was from Ben Affleck!"
The actor-director reportedly gave them large tips and told them, "Keep this just between us," per Morris.
Following the "humiliating" revelations, Lopez reportedly dumped Affleck and called off their wedding. The "Atlas" actress allegedly took off her engagement ring and told her pals that her romance with Affleck was over.
"It's over. He's made me a laughing stock," Lopez allegedly told one pal.
However, despite the incident, some of their friends were still hoping they would tie the knot later that year.
"I spoke with Jennifer, and she was crying throughout the conversation," one anonymous friend said. "This must be killing her, but she'll get past it. There'll be a wedding."
Meanwhile, Reid told USA Today that the National Enquirer story was "garbage." The New York Post also quoted one of the alleged strippers who said that Affleck was "drinking water" and never touched any of them, People reported.
Affleck's representatives also called the report from the National Enquirer "absolutely false" and "garbage."
Lopez and Affleck dated in 2002 after meeting on the set of "Gigli." In November that year, she announced their engagement in an interview with Diane Sawyer, saying it was "traditional, but also in a very spectacular way, as of course Ben would do it ... it was very, very beautiful."
However, they canceled their 2003 wedding, just three days before they were set to walk down the aisle and exchange vows. The pair reconciled nearly 20 years later, in 2021, after she called off her engagement to Alex Rodriguez. They eloped in Las Vegas in July 2022 and married again a month later in his estate. However, several sources recently claimed that their marriage could be heading for divorce.
