Ben Affleck can always count on his friend Matt Damon for support. The Martian actor has once again spoken out in support of his friend, saying that father-of-three Ben was "misunderstood" by the public – largely due to his relationship with Jennifer Lopez in 2002.
"There's nobody who's more misunderstood," Matt told The Hollywood Reporter. "Ten years ago, the public image of him could not have been farther apart from who he actually is. It was like he was being cast in a role, that he was a talented kind of meathead, with his whole relationship with Jennifer Lopez."
Matt Damon said Ben Affleck is "misunderstood"
Ben and Jennifer were together for 18 months and were dubbed 'Bennifer' by the media. The pair starred in the critically-panned film Gigli together, and were due to tie the knot in 2003 but called off their wedding just four days beforehand and split four months later.
Matt continued: "He just got cast as this person that he wasn't. It was just really painful. It was painful to be his friend, because it wasn't fair, you know? To my mind, nobody really got him at all.
"And through his work, he climbed from the bottom of the mountain all the way back up to the top and past where either of us had ever been."
Matt said the opinions stemmed from Ben's relationship with Jennifer Lopez
While Matt reportedly wouldn't speak about Ben's divorce from wife Jennifer Garner, the 44-year-old previously said his friend was "great" following the split in August.
"He's great, he's great. He's got a big smile on his face," Matt told People as the pair promoted their TV series Project Greenlight in Los Angeles.
Ben and Jennifer announced they were divorcing in June following ten years of marriage, but have continued to maintain a friendly relationship for the sake of their children, even stepping out for a dinner date together in September.