Why Ben Affleck Once Got Into A Spat With Madonna

Ahh, celebrity feuds. It's hard to look at them, but even harder to look away from them. From the likes of Taylor Swift vs. Kanye West and Kim Kardashian to Mariah Carey vs. Nicki Minaj, there have been some pretty epic spats between famous faces over the years. While many are a little more expected due to rivalries in the same industry or drama from running in the same circles, there are also plenty of unexpected beefs in Hollywood. One of those you probably forgot about? That would be Ben Affleck and Madonna.

Yep, although these two actually have plenty in common (to name a few, they've both appeared in movies, have had decades long Hollywood careers, have kids, and have publicly confirmed they're Democrats) the former Batman actor and the "Like A Virgin" hitmaker probably aren't two famous faces you'd expect to ever have had a war of words with one another. But these two did have a bit of a public spat once upon a time — and it all involved Madonna sharing her take on Affleck's relationship with his now wife, Jennifer Lopez.

Of course, Bennifer split for the first time in 2004 but went on to reconcile in 2021 and marry the following year. Long before all that happened though, Madonna had something to say about the two calling off their ill-fated 2003 wedding.

It turns out Madonna was just as invested in Bennifer as the rest of the world during round one of their romance — and she had a lot to say about Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez deciding not to go through with their big wedding, originally set to take place in September 2003. After the couple confirmed mere days before they were set to walk down the aisle that it was all off, Madonna threw a little shade. "Well, to a certain extent, they courted the media attention. At the end of the day, I feel like that's their job, and then there needs to be a part of the relationship that you keep private," she told "Access Hollywood" (via CBS News). "You know, I'm not making a judgment call on Jennifer and Ben... we can only make assumptions about why it did or didn't happen," she continued. "Ultimately, if you have a strong relationship, and there is understanding of what a committed marriage is, I don't think that having a lot of media attention can break it up."

Affleck clearly didn't take too well to Madonna (who's not afraid of a little publicity herself) throwing in her two cents, though. "You can probably file that quote in the dictionary of clichés under the heading of 'pot and kettle.' I mean, I didn't do a book with me naked," he hit back to Rolling Stone.

Madonna being a little shady towards Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck may come as a little surprise, as her comments came the same year as she actually wanted to lock lips with the "Waiting For Tonight" hitmaker. You may remember a certain famous lip lock Madonna had with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, but it turns out it was none other than Jenny From The Block who Madonna first had in mind. "It was a long road to get to that Britney and Christina kiss, because they weren't necessarily the first couple of people who were on the hit list... originally, JLo was in the mix. That didn't happen," MTV Music Group President Van Toffler told Entertainment Weekly in 2012.

Lopez confirmed that was in fact the case a whopping 11 years later. "I was filming a movie in Canada. We had met — me, [Madonna] and Britney — to do it, at [Madonna's] home. I just couldn't get off the film, so we couldn't do it. Then they got Christina Aguilera, I think, to do it. I didn't wind up doing it, but, yeah, we had talked about it," Lopez explained to E! News. And it sounds like JLo isn't holding a grudge over Madonna's comments about her and Affleck first wedding, either. "I love Madonna, I'm a huge fan, I always have been," she said.

All's well that ends well, right?