Ben Affleck’s Back Tattoo Is Fake!

Updated 3/21/16

Ben Affleck’s back tattoo is FAKE. Way to get one over on the media, Affleck. Turns out the massive phoenix tattoo, disliked by long-time ex Jennifer Lopez and ex-wife Jennifer Garner (read their thoughts below), is for a movie and not at all permanent.

Mario Lopez asked the 43-year-old during an Extra interview, “The tat on your back: real or fake for a movie?” Affleck answered, “Fake for a movie,” then said he didn’t want to talk about it. “I try not to have [tattoos] in places where you have to do a lot of cover up,” he said, admitting “they get sort of addictive.” Affleck said not having tattoos is a novel thing, “Guys who don’t have them are a rarity now.”

The world first got sight of Affleck’s new back in December while he was on set of Live By Night, the actor’s recent film due in 2017. Live By Night, also written and directed by Affleck, tells the story of organized crime during the prohibition era. But how does his fake tattoo come into play? Tattoos of that size and color were still taboo and relatively uncommon in the 1920s and ’30s. The standard at that time was smaller, American traditional styles, that often made up sleeves or chest pieces. Still, a phoenix represents rebirth, or rising after falling. Maybe his character, Joe Coughlin, is an underdog.

Affleck’s latest movie, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, hits theaters March 25.

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Originally published on 3/1/16

It may seem like ancient history but once upon a time Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck were Hollywood’s most famous couple. Even the most amicable breakups can sting years later, much like how it still pains us to even think about the abomination that was Gigli. That’s why we’re guessing Mr. Affleck cringed a bit after hearing Lopez’s take on his recently revealed back piece.

“It’s awful!” Lopez exclaimed while appearing on an episode of “Watch What Happens Live.” “And I would tell him that. What are you doing? It has too many colors, his tattoos always have too many colors.”

Come on, J-Lo, there’s nothing wrong with a little color. Lord knows you love to wear every color in the rainbow, often all at once, what’s so wrong with Boston’s Favorite Son getting inked with beautifully vibrant colors? While we haven’t been able to get an up close look at the ink, that Phoenix looks pretty badass from afar. Tattooists go crazy to have the opportunity to tattoo someone of Affleck’s skin tone precisely because of how visible every shade and hue shows up.

Now, if J-Lo was merely advocating for her former flame to get some black and grey work alongside his color pieces, that’s one thing. But don’t hate on a badass piece because you don’t like bright tattoos. Respect the art, the artist and your ex’s taste in tattoos.

It turns out that Lopez isn’t the only one of Affleck’s exes to trash his ink. Jennifer Garner recently opened up about her June divorce from the actor in an article forVanity Fair. It turns out that Garner took more offense to the subject matter of the tattoo than the coloration.

“A Phoenix rising from the ashes,” Garner says. “Am I the ashes in this scenario? I take umbrage. I refuse to be the ashes.”

Now that we have heard from both Lopez and Garner there is one more important question—what does BFF Matt Damon think of the tattoo? If you want the answer to that question, and to hear about all of the latest celebrity tattoo news, make sure to check back with Inkedmag.com every day!