Current:Home > StocksJennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck are getting divorced. Why you can't look away. -前500条预览:
Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck are getting divorced. Why you can't look away.
View
Date:2025-04-19 20:27:59
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are – after much, much, much speculation – getting divorced.
On Tuesday, Jennifer Lopez, 55, filed to divorce Ben Affleck, 52, in Los Angeles Superior Court, according to court filings obtained by USA TODAY. Tuesday marked the second anniversary of the estranged couple's Georgia wedding ceremony. TMZ and Variety report their date of separation as April 26.
TMZ was first to report the news. USA TODAY has reached out to reps for Affleck and Lopez for comment.
This was the second marriage for Affleck and the fourth for Lopez. The two were engaged to each other twice: first in 2002 then again in 2021.
Rumors about their divorce have been circulating for months, many of them cheeky and downright cruel in nature. But why?
Watching rich and famous people crumble is an appetizing pastime for many – particularly when it comes to the ups and downs of celebrities.
But the lampooning of JLo and Ben Affleck may say more about us than it does about them. Experts say we can't look away because of schadenfreude – finding joy in others' hardships – and the ever-tantalizing appeal of a good story.
"There's pleasure in watching rich people who seem to have it all and these (moments) remind us that, well, they really don't have it all," Elizabeth Cohen, associate professor at West Virginia University who researches psychology of media and pop culture, previously told USA TODAY. "And maybe they don't even necessarily deserve it all."
In case you're reeling:Kevin Costner and the shock over divorce after a long-term marriage
'It can be motivational, but make you feel bad about yourself'
A psychological theory called "social comparison" is behind our love for this drama, Cohen says. It posits that humans will always try and compare themselves to other people to figure out where they fit in the world. If you perceive someone is "better" than you, you fall into upward social comparison.
"The problem with upward social comparison is that it can be positive, but it makes you feel like you're not where you need to be," Cohen says. "So it can be motivational, but it can also make you feel bad about yourself."
The flip side is downward social comparison, where you consume media solely to look down on others. Seeing Lopez and Affleck divorce makes people realize that they aren't infallible, and therefore easy to project on and pile on.
"You watch these ridiculously wealthy people who have in a lot of ways, these enviable lives, but then they're not," Erica Chito-Childs, a sociology professor at Hunter College and The Graduate Center, CUNY, previously told USA TODAY.
Have you heard?! Sign up for USA TODAY's Everyone's Talking newsletter for all the internet buzz.
Remember:'Golden Bachelor' Gerry Turner, Theresa Nist divorce news shocks, but don't let it get to you
'We like watching other people behave in bad ways'
Reality TV and social media have shown us that even the rich and famous aren't so perfect – and audiences evidently revel in that. Any move Lopez and Affleck make that's even remotely cringey will be fodder for the vultures.
"We like watching other people behave in strange and bad ways," Robert Thompson, founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at the Newhouse School of Public Communications Syracuse University, previously told USA TODAY. "We like watching other human beings melt down, regardless of their income status."
It's all part of what makes a good story. "There seems to be a narrative thread that we like watching people make this climb to wealth and status," Thompson says. "But once they actually get there, one of the only narrative threads left is to watch them fall. And we do get a lot of schadenfreude pleasure out of that if you look at a lot of the examples of stories that we tell."
Whether someone loves or hates (or loves to hate) this is a personal choice – not something ingrained in your brain.
"Why do some people hate this and why do some people like it? That's not a question for science," Thompson says. "That's a question of show business."
Either way, if you feel like you're spending too much time focused on celebrities you don't know, you probably are. It might be time to go explore your own block and stay off of Jenny's.
veryGood! (31127)
Related
- Israel lets Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for first time in over a year as cease
- Kentucky Senate committee advances bill proposing use of armed ‘guardians’ in schools
- Dawson's Creek Alum James Van Der Beek Sings With Daughter Olivia on TV
- Why a financial regulator is going after health care debt
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- Retailers including Amazon and Walmart are selling unsafe knockoff video doorbells, report finds
- Escaped murder suspect who drove off in sheriff's vehicle arrested at New Orleans hotel, authorities say
- Stacy Wakefield had a passion for service that continued after husband Tim Wakefield’s death
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- Democratic lawmakers ask Justice Department to probe Tennessee’s voting rights restoration changes
Ranking
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- 50 years ago, 'Blazing Saddles' broke wind — and box office expectations
- Stacy Wakefield had a passion for service that continued after husband Tim Wakefield’s death
- Alabama Sen. Katie Britt to deliver Republican response to Biden's State of the Union address
- New Mexico governor seeks funding to recycle fracking water, expand preschool, treat mental health
- Caitlin Clark: Complete guide to basketball career of Iowa's prolific scorer and superstar
- Psst! Ann Taylor Has Secretly Chic Workwear Fits, and They’re Offering an Extra 30% off Sale Styles
- Scandinavian Airlines medevac plane lands in Malaysian island where Norwegian king is hospitalized
Recommendation
Don't let hackers fool you with a 'scam
Farms fuel global warming. Billions in tax dollars likely aren't helping - report
Teen charged with killing 2 people after shooting in small Alaska community of Point Hope
U.S. warns spring break travelers to Mexico to exercise increased caution
Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
Arizona’s new voting laws that require proof of citizenship are not discriminatory, a US judge rules
Providence NAACP president convicted of campaign finance violations
Uber's teen accounts will now have spending limits, monthly budgets: What to know