Sterling K. Brown Shows ‘Contempt’ for Jennifer Lopez on Press Tour, Body Language Expert Says
Jennifer Lopez has been all over the media recently due to her alleged marital issues with Ben Affleck and her hit Netflix film Atlas. Lopez plays Atlas Shepherd in the sci-fi action flick centered around capturing a renegade robot in the future. A recent press interview with her co-stars, Simu Liu and Sterling K. Brown, appears to show tension between Brown and Lopez. Here’s what Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s body language expert noticed.
Sterling K. Brown appeared to show ‘contempt’ and ‘smugness’ toward Jennifer Lopez during a press interview
Atlas is proving to be a huge hit for Netflix, bringing attention back to Jennifer Lopez’s acting instead of her marriage. Lopez plays Atlas Shepherd in the film alongside Simu Liu, who plays the villainous Harlan Shepherd, and Sterling K. Brown, who plays Colonel Elias Banks. The three actors answered questions in a press interview with UNILAD. Some fans noticed some possible tension between Lopez and Brown.
During one section of the interview, Liu read aloud a question about the cast’s go-to comfort meals. “I grew up — I’m Puerto Rican, so I like rice and beans,” Lopez said.
“Are you Puerto Rican?” Brown interjected sarcastically.
“Yes, I am,” Lopez stated without missing a beat. “Rice, and beans, and chicken, and stuff like that.”
Brown interrupted Lopez by saying “rice, beans, and chicken” in Spanish before moving on to his favorite comfort foods.
Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s body language expert, Darren Stanton, said that Brown’s interruption might indicate “contempt” toward Lopez.
“Straight away, Sterling pulled an expression of what we call ‘contempt,’ or ‘smugness’ — it’s when one side of the mouth curls up,” Stanton noticed when Brown made the Puerto Rican comment at Lopez. “Also, in other situations, I’ve noticed him rolling his eyes, looking down, not paying attention. He’s being mischievous, and that is obviously upsetting J.Lo to a large extent.”
Stanton added that Lopez is “controlling her responses” when Brown gets under her skin. “She’s not showing the emotion to a great extent, but she did look to the side and glare at him. … So, she is controlling her responses very, very well,” he said. “But, what is clear to me is the fact that there is some issue between the two of them.”
Sterling K. Brown said Ben Affleck helped Jennifer Lopez on the set of ‘Atlas’
Jennifer Lopez’s marital issues with Ben Affleck dominated headlines for weeks. While Sterling K. Brown didn’t mention whether he noticed tension between Lopez and Affleck on the set of Atlas, he said Affleck helped Lopez with her role. Brown explained that Affleck would read the lines from AI “Smith,” voiced by Smith, Gregory James Cohan.
“Every once in a while, Ben would read the lines for Smith,” Brown told Entertainment Weekly. “And I think the newlyweds — still very much in love — I think she just wanted to hear his voice. And so sometimes, the reactions that you got from her were because she was listening to her husband’s voice.”
During another press conference in Mexico City, a fan in the crowd asked Lopez, “Is your divorce from Ben Affleck real? What is the truth?”
Simu Liu quickly interjected, “OK, we’re not doing that. … Don’t come in here with that energy.”
Lopez responded, “You know better than that,” and moved on.
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