Why Ben Affleck really skipped the Met Gala (which Jennifer Lopez co-chaired)

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(NewsNation) — Monday night was Jennifer Lopez’s big night. She was the co-chair of the 2024 Met Gala and appeared on the red carpet in a stunning handmade Schiaparelli haute couture gown and dripping in 20 carats of Tiffany diamonds. But, she was without her most obvious accessory — her husband Ben Affleck.

Affleck was reportedly in Los Angeles filming “The Accountant 2,” a sequel to the 2016 movie, but was reportedly still smarting from his ill-received performance at the Tom Brady roast the night before at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California.

During that roast, an “unhinged” Affleck let loose on Brady fans in an epithet filled “car crash” rant that was odd and not funny.  

“Ben Affleck seems to be … working some stuff out onstage,” one user wrote on X. Another added, “Is Ben Affleck OK? That was so weird.”

Affleck was also — unfairly, in my opinion — slammed for his “gaunt” appearance, which had many viewers questioning his appearance, wondering if he was on Ozempic or got a face-lift.

And while an already agitated Affleck could have squeezed in a trip to New York City for a few hours, it was best he didn’t.

“He hates that sh*t,” a friend told me. “(The Met Gala) is not his scene.”

And, despite being a good actor, Affleck has difficulty hiding his feelings when he is unhappy. The actor was raked over the coals for months for his grumpy appearance at the 2023 Grammys.

Affleck did attend the Met Gala in 2021 but has not been back since.

It’s even more of a shame, as his wife Lopez has had a rough year and could have used some support. 

As I reported, a “chastened” Lopez went back to work filming “Kiss of the Spider Woman” after being humiliated when her first studio album in ten years flopped along with her two movies about her life, and her tour had to cancel several shows in seven cities due to lack of interest. She eventually had to change the tour completely from “This Is Me … Now” to her greatest hits. 

Despite her need for support, Lopez still walked the red carpet Monday night alone.

A rep for Affleck said, “Ben didn’t attend the Met Gala because he is filming the ‘Accountant 2’ in Los Angeles.”

But Affleck isn’t the only celebrity to loathe the Met Gala and the Marie Antoinette-esque spectacle it has become.

His own ex-wife, Jennifer Garner, went in 2007 and never went back, telling Vogue’s Beauty Secret series: “I found it a little scary, so I haven’t been back.” 

Other celebs who have trashed the gala include:

• Gwyneth Paltrow, who has attended several times, said in 2013: “I’m never going again. It was so un-fun. It was boiling. It was too crowded. I did not enjoy it at all. I’m never going again.” (She returned in 2017 and 2019.)
• Lena Dunham: “(Amy Schumer) and I were literally sitting across from each other at the Met Ball, and it was like a crazy countdown to when we could escape.”
• Madonna’s daughter Lourdes Leon said: “You’re just shoved into a room with all these famous people and you’re supposed to talk to them and be their friend, even though you don’t f***ing know them. That’s not my vibe.” She added: “I’m sure it’s fun if you’re someone who is friends with a lot of famous people, but I’m not. I didn’t know who the f*** to talk to. I felt so awkward that I literally called my boyfriend in the middle of it.”
• Tina Fey said: “It is such a jerk parade. If you had a million arms and all the people you would punch in the whole world, they’re all there.”

And on Wednesday, Kennedy family scion Katherine Schwarzenegger threw some serious shade at the event when she posted a picture of her mother Maria Shriver with two socialites in a lavender dress attending the event in 2001 and noted: “When the Met Gala was chic and classy.” Ouch.