Ben Affleck Says Jennifer Lopez Helped Him Understand "Culture and Style"

Meme king (and self-aware icon) Ben Affleck is singing the praises of his wife, Jennifer Lopez, who he says helped him wrap his head around the world of sneaker culture and hypebeast fashion ahead of his new film, Air, which reunites him with bestie and former co-star Matt Damon. The movie documents the way that Nike started to ingratiate itself with Black culture and align itself with Michael Jordan, something that was revolutionary back in the '80s and early '90s.

"Oh, my god, she's brilliant," Affleck told The Hollywood Reporter of picking Lopez's (undoubtedly bedazzled) brain. "She is incredibly knowledgeable about the way fashion evolves through the culture as a confluence of music, sports, entertainment, and dance."

He added that Lopez was his connection to the world of sneakers and sneaker culture. He explained that she "helped [him] in talking about the way in which a part of the reason why Jordans [the shoes] were so meaningful is because culture and style in America is 90% driven by Black culture."

"Black culture has historically pioneered music, dance, fashion, and it's then been stolen, appropriated, re-marketed as Elvis or whatever," Affleck continued, adding that his new movie approached that connection with care and consideration. "And in this case, [Nike], a White-run corporate entity, was starting to do business with African American athletes in an identity affiliation sales thing. They were really taking value from what Michael Jordan represents and who he is. I don't think the meaning can be overstated. They're going to switch from, 'Hey, guys, we are a nice shoe,' to, 'If Mike has it, you want it.'"

Air arrives in theaters on April 5 and also stars Jason Bateman, Chris Messina, Marlon Wayans, and Gustaf Skarsgård.