Ben Affleck Says Ex Jennifer Lopez 'Should Have Been Nominated' at 2020 Oscars for Hustlers
Add Ben Affleck to the long list of people who were rooting for Jennifer Lopez to receive her first Oscar nomination this awards season.
The actor — who was previously engaged to Lopez before the two called it off in January 2004 — spoke with New York Times reporter Brooks Barnes for an interview in which he talked about his respect for Lopez and her bustling career.
“She should have been nominated. She’s the real thing. I keep in touch periodically with her and have a lot of respect for her. How awesome is it that she had her biggest hit movie at 50? That’s f—ing baller,” Affleck said, according to Barnes, who tweeted the unused quote from his profile.
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Affleck met Lopez on the set of their film Gigli in 2002 and the pair got engaged that same year.
While Lopez didn’t receive an Oscar nomination for her Hustlers role, she scored nods at both the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
The nomination for Hustlers marked her second Golden Globes nomination, though she was ultimately beat out by Marriage Story‘s Laura Dern.
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Lopez scored her first Globes nomination for her lead performance as the singer Selena in the 1997 biopic of the Latin performer.
The actress has received career-best acclaim for her performance as a real-life stripper in Hustlers. She was recently named best supporting actress for the film by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. And in November 2019, Lopez was nominated for a Film Independent Spirit Award for her work.
“It just shows you that dreams come true,” Lopez told PEOPLE of her booming career in her recent cover story, where she and three other stars were celebrated as PEOPLE’s People of the Year.
“But you have to work at it and not give up. The key is the not giving up part. For me, it’s not a choice. You can’t stop,” she added.
