Matt Damon ‘Shut Down’ Any Ben Affleck Talk With J. Lo at the ‘Unstoppable’ Premiere: Report
It seems Matt Damon wasn’t up for discussing Ben Affleck with Jennifer Lopez at the premiere of the trio’s new Unstoppable film amid the pair’s split. Sure, J. Lo posed together on the red carpet with Affleck’s longtime best friend. But, later, during a private moment at the after party, Damon reportedly “shut down” Lopez when she brought up Affleck.
J. Lo and Matt Damon talked for 20 minutes at the ‘Unstoppable’ premiere
On Sept. 6, 2024, all eyes were on Lopez and Damon when they stepped out at Unstoppable’s Toronto International Film Festival premiere. (Lopez has a supporting role in the movie produced by Affleck and Damon.) Affleck skipped the premiere amid his highly publicized split from Lopez.
However, Damon and the “Let’s Get Loud” singer did appear together multiple times during the evening. According to the Daily Mail, the two had a 20-minute conversation. While Lopez wanted to talk about her estranged husband, Damon reportedly was “not having any of it.”
Damon didn’t want to talk about Ben Affleck with Lopez because of ‘awkward’ timing
Ben skipped the premiere for obvious reasons, but apparently, J.Lo and Damon talked and even held hands at one point. But according to an insider, Ben wasn’t up for discussion.
“Matt Damon shut down any attempt that JLo made to discuss Ben at the premiere,” a source the outlet, citing “awkward” timing as the cause.
“It was her timing that was so awkward because she would have known that pulling Matt aside at the event to have an intimate talk was going to get picked up and go viral,” they explained.
The moment between Damon and Lopez did indeed go viral. Page Six published a photo of the two holding hands at the after-party in what appeared to be a serious discussion.
“Her whole hand on his hand was a nice touch,” the insider added in reference to the after-party image. “But he was not having any of it. He told her he is glad she is doing well and is thankful for her participation in the film—but he made it clear he was not there to talk about Ben at all.”
The source noted The Instigators star “was not ‘praying’ with” Lopez. Rather, Damon emphasized to her he’d “always have Ben’s back no matter what.”
Lopez and Ben Affleck haven’t publicly addressed their split amid divorce filing
After months of speculation surrounding the state of their marriage—and two years exactly since their Georgia wedding—Lopez filed for divorce from Affleck. On Aug. 20, 2024, she submitted paperwork to begin divorce proceedings. In the documents, she cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for her and The Accountant star’s split.
She also revealed in the filing that she and Affleck had been separated since April 2024. Through it all, the two are allegedly not speaking and waiting to announce their split publicly.
It comes after Damon reportedly cautioned Affleck to, per the outlet, “focus on his work” when Lopez re-entered his life. “Matt tried to warn Ben when he got back together with JLo that this could happen,” an insider said. “Matt was there to help Ben get it together after their first split, and he felt like this would happen again.”
