Jennifer Lopez Addresses “Negativity” in a Heartfelt Message to Her Fans Amid Ben Affleck Divorce Rumors, Tour Cancellation

After what can only be described as a rough month for Jennifer Lopez, the multihyphenate spoke out in a heartfelt message to her fans, writing in her OnTheJLo newsletter “It may seem like there’s a lot of negativity out in the world right now…but don’t let the voices of a few drown out that there is soooo much love out there.”

It was one month ago today, on May 6, when Lopez co-chaired the Met Gala in New York City alongside Zendaya, Bad Bunny, and Chris Hemsworth, and attended without her husband, Ben Affleck, who was back in L.A. filming his latest, The Accountant 2. But in the aftermath of Affleck’s absence, divorce rumors began to swirl, and Affleck was again MIA when Lopez premiered her latest film, Atlas, in both L.A. and Mexico City later that month. Closing out the tough month of May, last Friday, May 31, Lopez announced that her planned summer tour “This Is Me…Live”—her first in five years, since 2019’s “It’s My Party” celebrating her 50th birthday—was canceled, a decision made to spend time with her loved ones.

But every cloud has a silver lining, right? And that actually was true for this past month for Lopez—her film, Atlas, is No. 1 on Netflix for the second week in a row, which was another main point behind Lopez’s recent note to her fans. “I just found out some great news and it’s all because of YOU!!” Lopez wrote to her fans in her newsletter. “ATLAS is #1 worldwide again this week!!! Thank you all so much!!!”

Entertainment Tonight writes of her message “It’s unclear if Lopez was subtly addressing the criticism and negativity found in the speculation regarding her marriage woes with husband Ben Affleck or if she was referring to larger-scale worldwide issues. However, many fans interpreted the remark as a reference to the split rumors surrounding her relationship and criticism from some fans over her decision to cancel her forthcoming tour.” (The tour, which was set to promote both her latest album, This Is Me…Now, and also serve as a greatest hits show, was scheduled to run from June to August.) 

A source speaking to Us Weekly said of Lopez that she has been “very focused on work,” and that, when it comes to Lopez and Affleck—who will celebrate two years of marriage next month—“They are on two completely different pages most of the time.” In addition to Atlas and her now-cancelled tour, Lopez also filmed the movie Kiss of the Spider Woman this spring, fresh on the heels of the release of not just a new album but also an accompanying musical film and documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told. Not surprisingly, Lopez was likely experiencing burnout, and a source told Entertainment Tonight that Lopez ultimately canceled the tour because “she wants to focus on her family, and the stress from it [the tour] has been a lot for her.”

Though rumors of marital strife continue, Lopez and Affleck have been seen together several times lately, like at a graduation party for Affleck’s eldest child, daughter Violet, on May 30, and then again on June 2 at a basketball game for Affleck’s son Samuel, who he (like his other two children, Violet and Seraphina) shares with ex-wife Jennifer Garner. As the two met up to watch Samuel play basketball, Lopez was spotted kissing her husband on the cheek at the game in Santa Monica.