August 06, 2003 12:00am
J.Lo Stands by Ben at Strip Club
Source: Reuters
by: Steve Gorman
(LOS ANGELES, CA) -- Singer-actress Jennifer Lopez was aware that husband-to-be and "Gigli" co-star Ben Affleck had patronized a strip club in Vancouver, British Columbia, last month, but shrugged off the whole episode, sources close to the couple told Reuters on Wednesday.
The sources also dismissed reports in British newspapers that Lopez, 33, had dumped Affleck, 30.
"They're completely together," one source said. "She knew he went to the strip club ... And her attitude is: 'What's the big deal?' Moving on."
Another source denied tabloid reports that Affleck had engaged in any errant behavior with the strippers, saying only, "Nothing happened beyond him going to a strip club."
Reports that Affleck had gone without Lopez to Brandi's Exotic Nightclub in Vancouver first surfaced in a lurid article published by the National Enquirer tabloid last week.
The magazine US Weekly followed that story with a report of its own this week quoting Ryan Haddon, the wife of actor Christian Slater, as saying they and actress Tara Reid had joined Affleck at the club on July 17, the same night a tape was shown of he and Lopez together on "Dateline NBC" talking about their movie and real-life romance.
Haddon told the magazine their entourage, including several strippers, also returned to Slater's rented home for a private after-hours party. But contrary to the Enquirer report, Haddon said Affleck was a model of fidelity during the entire evening.
"Ben did not cheat," she was quoted as saying. "He did not have sex with anyone. Ben was listening to music, hanging out, talking to people, that's it."
Lopez is certainly no stranger to men in tabloid trouble. She split from her then-longtime boyfriend, rap impresario Sean 'P. Diddy" Combs, during his much publicized trial in New York on weapons and bribery charges in connection with a nightclub shooting. Combs was later acquitted.
Reports of Affleck's evening out have generated international headlines in the wake of overwhelmingly scathing reviews of their movie, "Gigli," a box office flop that grossed a meager $3.8 million its first weekend in release.
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