Movies

Jane Fonda has ‘concern’ over Jennifer Lopez’s excessive PDA with Ben Affleck

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Social Links for Danica Daniel
Published Feb. 13, 2024, 8:40 p.m. ET

Life is imitating art for Jennifer Lopez and Jane Fonda.

Fonda once played Lopez’s disapproving mother-in-law-to-be in the 2005 romantic comedy film “Monster-in-Law.” Now, the 86-year-old actress is once again not holding her tongue when it comes to the “I’m Real” singer’s real-life choices.

Fonda appears in Lopez’s forthcoming Amazon Prime Video movie, “This Is Me … Now: A Love Story,” which accompanies Lopez’s ninth studio album, “This Is Me … Now,” as part of the movie’s “zodiac counsel.” But despite her appearance, the “Book Club” star had her hesitations because of J.Lo’s husband Ben Affleck.

“I want you to know that I don’t entirely know why, but I feel invested in you and Ben, and I really want this to work,” Fonda says in the upcoming documentary “The Greatest Love Story Never Told,” which follows the making of the album and film, according to Variety.”

“However, this is my concern,” she added. “Like, it feels too much like you’re trying to prove something instead of just living it. You know, every other photograph is the two of you kissing and the two of you hugging.”

Fonda once played Lopez's disapproving mother-in-law-to-be in the 2005 romantic comedy film "Monster-in-Law."
Fonda once played Lopez’s disapproving mother-in-law-to-be in the 2005 romantic comedy film “Monster-in-Law.” Getty Images for Women In Film (WIF)

Unfazed by her remarks, Lopez, 54, just laughed and said, “That’s just us living our life.”

Fonda also voiced her concern after seeing paparazzi pics of Affleck, 51, looking sad alongside Lopez at the 2023 Grammy Awards.

“He looks unhappy and I’m like, ‘Oh, my God, what’s happening?’” Fonda tells Lopez in the documentary.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck kiss as they attend ELLE's Women in Hollywood Celebration, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., December 5, 2023.
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck kiss as they attend ELLE’s Women in Hollywood Celebration in Los Angeles, California, on December 5, 2023. REUTERS

“Nothing,” Lopez retorted. “He was like, ‘I’ve become the symbol of the beleaguered man.’”

Before she agreed to appear in “This Is Me … Now: A Love Story,” Fonda spoke with Lopez’s manager Benny Medina, according to Variety.

“I believe that everyone in the entire world is pulling for this relationship and this love,” Fonda told Medina. “And the idea of how you present that is so sacrosanct, so important. It should be handled in a way that you aren’t overly flaunting it, so much so that it creates any form of criticism or resentment.” 

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - JUNE 04: Jennifer Lopez and Jane Fonda pose backstage at UCLA Longevity Center's 20th Anniversary ICON Awards on June 4, 2011 in Beverly Hills, California.
Jennifer Lopez and Jane Fonda pose backstage at UCLA Longevity Center’s 20th Anniversary ICON Awards on June 4, 2011 in Beverly Hills, California. Getty Images

Film producer Elaine Goldsmith Thomas also shared her critiques with Lopez regarding the project, which will be released on Friday, February 16th.

“I’m in New York, and she’s saying, ‘I think I’m going to finance this myself.’ I was like, ‘Wait, what?’ I don’t even know what it is. What are you doing?’ I was worried. ‘Why are you sharing your story? It’s too personal. Stop it.’ It made me uncomfortable for her,” Goldsmith Thomas told Variety.

“I was afraid that she was telling her journey and that it would look like it was saying, ‘Here’s my journey from Ben to Ben.’ And it’s not about that” she added. “It’s about, ‘Here’s what I’ve been through for the past 20 years, and I kept walking into the same wall and blaming the wall until I started to look at myself.’”