Jennifer Lopez caught viewers' attention on Monday, 6 October 2025, when she challenged a blunt question about her divorce from Ben Affleck during a live appearance on NBC's Today, and used the moment to explain how her new film kept her afloat.
The actress and singer, who is fronting the musical drama Kiss of the Spider Woman, told host Craig Melvin that the production offered escapism amid personal upheaval, while also acknowledging Affleck's role in getting the picture made.
Her comments, at once candid and professional, underline the awkward seam between celebrity private life and public promotion and illuminate how art and commerce can remain entwined even after a relationship ends.
Lopez's On-Air Exchange with Craig Melvin
During the Today interview, Melvin raised the fact that Lopez's divorce was finalised while she was shooting the film; Lopez immediately cut him off playfully with the line, 'There you go! Look at this guy!' but then addressed the question directly.
She told viewers she had been 'so happy' on set, yet admitted the contrast with her home life was stark: 'It was a really tough time. Every moment on set, every moment I was doing this role, I was so happy, and then it was like, back home, it was not great. And it was just like, "How do I work inside of this?"' The clip of the exchange is available from the Today programme's published segment.
The encounter was measured rather than sensational as Lopez used the interruption to steer the conversation back to the film's themes, describing the project as a form of rescue at a fraught moment in her life.
Professional Collaboration Despite Personal Split
Lopez also made a point of crediting Affleck for the film's existence, saying bluntly that 'if it wasn't for Ben, the movie wouldn't have got made'. That admission highlighted a pragmatic separation of professional gratitude from private grief.
Affleck is listed among the film's executive producers through his Artists Equity banner, a fact visible in the production credits for Kiss of the Spider Woman, a high-profile cinematic adaptation that has been positioned for awards-season attention.
Industry observers say such arrangements, where former partners continue to collaborate, are increasingly common when significant creative and financial commitments are already in place. For Lopez, the collaboration appears to have been instrumental in bringing a long-cherished role to the screen while she navigated personal change.
Art, Escapism and the Human Cost
Kiss of the Spider Woman, which premiered on the festival circuit earlier this year and opened more widely in October, is explicitly about the power of fantasy in the face of hardship, a theme Lopez said mirrored her own experience on set. She characterised the film as a 'dream come true' that helped her 'survive a moment that was difficult in [her] personal life'.
Her candour, equal parts vulnerability and professionalism, highlights a recurring story in contemporary celebrity culture: the artist who uses performance as both a creative outlet and an emotional lifeline. For audiences and awards voters, the narrative of an artist overcoming private pain through craft can intensify the reception of a performance; for the performer, it can exact a steep personal toll.
Lopez's appearance on Today may have been short and, at times, jocular, but it also offered one clear take-away: even at the apex of fame, the act of making art remains messy, human and — for some — salvational.
