Ben Affleck's polarising massive back tattoo Jennifer Lopez branded 'awful'

There’s more to Ben Affleck than what’s on the surface, namely his handful of surprising and intricate tattoos.

The actor is back on screen with a new thriller on Netflix called Animals, in which he plays a struggling mayoral candidate. While shooting the film last year, Ben was pictured with one eyebrow-raising difference to his appearance…

Ben's most famous tattoo

Perhaps Ben’s most famous tattoo is that of a giant phoenix on his back. But in pictures published by People, the actor's tattoo appeared to be altered on the Animals set, with his lower back seemingly inked in black instead of the usual vibrant multicoloured artwork he's had for a decade.

Ben first showed off the statement art in December 2015 while working on Live by Night. Though he clarified in a March 2016 interview with Extra TV that the intricate piece was fake and "for a movie," he was photographed sporting the ink during a beach training session for his action film Triple Frontier in Hawaii in March 2018.

He responded to criticism of the back tattoo later that month after The New Yorker published an article slamming the design. "@NewYorker I’m doing just fine," he wrote via Twitter at the time. "Thick skin bolstered by garish tattoos."

Ben poked fun at the look once again during a March 2018 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, dubbing the tat "a Phoenix rising from my ass."

The Gone Girl star also opened up about the tattoo’s meaning, telling host Ellen DeGeneres: "It’s something that I sort of kept private."

While Ben has received support from BFF Matt Damon for the notable ink – stating during a March 2018 appearance on The Daily Show that "It’s not one man’s job to tell another man what he can do to his back" – Jennifer Lopez previously admitted she wasn’t a fan. 

“It’s awful,” the Hustlers actress – who shares twins Max and Emme with ex-husband Marc Anthony – told host Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live in 2016. "And I would tell him that. What are you doing? It has too many colors! His tattoos always have too many colors. They shouldn’t be so colorful, you know what I mean? They should be, like, cooler."

Lots of ink

Fans got a glimpse at the actor’s ink via his now ex-wife J-Lo's Instagram in June 2023, as she posted a shirtless pic of him for Father’s Day. 

“Daddy Appreciation Post. Happy Father’s Day Papa,” she captioned a slideshow of photos, which included one of Affleck’s’ mirror selfies. "And Happy Father’s Day to all the amazing Papas out there!! We love you and appreciate you more than you will ever know."

In the pic, Ben – who shares kids Violet, Seraphina and Samuel with ex-wife Jennifer Garner – showed off his two shoulder tattoos while smouldering in the mirror. Both were visible in Jennifer’s 2002 music video for "Jenny from the Block", in which he made an appearance alongside his then-girlfriend. (The cross on his left shoulder has since been embellished with floral detailing.)

In honour of his and J-Lo's first Valentine’s Day together as a married couple — the pair previously dated from 2002 to 2004 before reconnecting in 2021 and tying the knot one year later — Ben and the Grammy nominee got complementary tattoos in February 2023. 

J-Lo got an infinity sign with an arrow going through it on her left ribcage, while the Oscar winner, for his part, got two crossing arrows with “J” and “B” initials next to it – seemingly representing their first names. However, in May 2026, the singer appeared to have subtly covered up the artwork following their divorce being finalised the year before, sharing a photo in a backless dress that revealed she no longer had a tribute to Ben on her ribcage. 

Among his many tattoos, the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice actor also has a small dolphin on his right hip. In November 2011, Page Six reported that the ink was used to cover up a tattoo of his high school girlfriend’s name, though Ben has never confirmed or denied the reason behind the tat.

Perhaps Ben’s most mysterious tattoo is that of “OV” initials on his right shoulder blade. The phrases “MOH NON TE” and “TA OR” are written above and below the initials, respectively, though the meaning behind the words remains unknown.

The tattoo Ben thought was 'terrible' 

In an interview last year with Complex’s GOAT Talk, the actor opened up about the ink he regrets the most: an upper arm tattoo he got in his teen years. 

"I have a ton of cover-ups, you know? I’ve had them removed, I’ve had cover-ups, over and over again," he said. "But probably the worst was when – I was 16 or something, I thought I’d do a barbed wire thing."

"It was terrible. So I was like, I better get something to cover that, and it started the process. I just don’t have them where you have to see them for work."