Rumors of a split between Hollywood power couple Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez took a new turn, as allegations emerged from Suge Knight, the former executive of Death Row Records, that even the FBI might have had a role in their reported separation. Knight, jailed himself, shared his thoughts on his podcast Collect Calls with Suge Knight that compromising FBI-seized tapes associated with an old nightclub shooting incident were shown to Affleck, leading to growing tensions in his marriage with Lopez.
Knight’s allegations follow an FBI raid on homes belonging to Sean “Diddy” Combs where tapes were allegedly seized. According to Knight, those tapes have the finger of Jennifer Lopez in a shooting incident at a nightclub in 1999 by rapper Shyne, who was cooling his heels for having fired during that incident. Shyne took the fall while Lopez, dating Diddy at the time, was found to have nothing to do with the incident.
Knight here alleges that these tapes have been leaked to Affleck by the FBI as a “courtesy,” maybe to prepare him for that event in case footage ever surfaced in public circulation. On Knight’s podcast, he mused,
“I’m quite sure they probably called. It’s a white man who got respect in the white world. I’m quite sure they said, ‘We want to show you some things about your wife.’
These revelations, according to Knight, have placed stress on the relationship of Affleck and Lopez, leading to increasing rumors of their separation. The pair previously got married in 2022, seemingly a fairy tale reunion after their romance, which had initially fizzled out nearly two decades prior, was rekindled in 2021. Recent reports, however, have indicated that Affleck may already be out of their home, which he shares with Lopez, and that has fanned the divorce rumors.
Comments by Knight bring into perspective how the tapes could have played a part in that decision.
“I’m quite sure they headed for divorce because that’s a man who had a good life,”
Knight said on his podcast.
“He got his own team. She brought all that extra stuff out; now, he wants out.”
Those wild claims of Knight have divided the fans’ reactions. Some say, considering the high-profile past relationship Lopez had with Diddy, including the infamous nightclub shooting case, the FBI getting involved and tapes of such nature existing may not be entirely impossible. Others, however, greeting Knight’s statements with skepticism as he has been serving his prison sentence since 2015 for a fatal hit-and-run incident.
Reactions have been mixed on social media: some sympathize with Affleck if, in fact, the tapes contributed to some personal crisis, while others believe this claim to be another wild conspiracy. Knight’s comments about Affleck’s seeming unhappiness have gone viral, and some viewers have even hatched theories that this set of tapes can’t be the only reason for the reported marital strain between the two.
The tapes reportedly link back to Lopez’s previous relationship with Diddy, which concluded in 2001 after the nightclub shooting incident. Although Diddy has been accused of many misdeeds over time, such as sexual assault, the revelation of these tapes-which finally proved true-could shine light on that part of Lopez’s life and how that impacts her marriage today.
But Rolling Stone recently reported that, after the two broke up, Diddy tried to get back in action with Lopez, which makes things even murkier about how these old associations might impact her marriage to Affleck.
Professional setbacks have paralleled personal struggles in Lopez’s case. Her highly publicized album, This Is Me… Now, only reached a mediocre No. 38 on the Billboard charts earlier this year, along with the slated concert tour for the release being scrapped due to reportedly poor presales of tickets. Live Nation released a statement saying Lopez wanted to spend more time with her family, but some believe that pressures from both her career and marriage might have factored into her decision.
Suge Knight, the infamous ex-CEO of Death Row Records, has been one of the most divisive figures in music over the last couple of decades. Well into his lengthy prison sentence, Knight is still a figure of intrigue to many because of the connections he once had and continues to be named in when revealing key players in the entertainment world.
His podcast Collect Calls with Suge Knight allows him an outlet to say his thoughts and arguments, but he has been incarcerated for so long that many question the validity of what he has to say. Fast-forward to some time later, Knight’s podcast has gained momentum as listeners tune in from all over for his explosive takes on industry secrets and mainstream celebrities alike. His latest comments about the Affleck-Lopez relationship add to a growing list of some claims that are considered by many to be controversial, yet impossible to ignore.