Kevin Smith Explains Why He Hasn’t Reached Out To Pal Ben Affleck Amid Divorce News

We’ve heard Ben Affleck is really leaning on best friend Matt Damon right now. His other bestie from the old days? Not so much…

People caught up with Kevin Smith at San Diego Comic-Con over the weekend as he was revealing his new movie, The 4:30 Movie, and they asked about his old pal. Ben is clearly going through it as it’s been widely reported he and Jennifer Lopez are breaking up again. Of course, this time they got married, so unlike 20 years ago they’re going through the slow steps of a divorce.

Kevin was there for a front row seat at the last breakup, right after they co-starred in his rom com Jersey Girl. This time? He knows as much as you do! He told the mag:

So he hasn’t reached out at all! Not even to offer his boy a beer? Why?! Kev says even his wife, Jennifer Schwalbach, told him he should offer support to his old friend at this tough time:

“My wife was like, ‘Oh, you should reach out to him.’”

So why the heck won’t he? Well, Kevin may not know what’s going on with Ben right now, but he knows himself well enough. He referred to himself as Ben’s “least trustworthy friend who’s very loose-lipped.” Wow! He admitted:

“I was like, ‘The last person he needs to hear from right now is the guy who chats a lot.’ So when he’s in a good place, he’ll let me know.”

While we’re really impressed with the filmmaker’s well-meaning restraint, we’re not sure that’s the best course of action. How hard would it be to give Ben a call and tell him that exact thing? Something like, “Hey, don’t tell me anything, you know I can’t keep a secret, but I want you to know I love you and I’m here for whatever you need.” Don’t you think?

Anyway, he may be calling Ben soon enough on a more professional level. He told People he’s about to make the next Jay and Silent Bob movie, and Ben plays multiple characters in that universe, so…

“We shoot in the fall, so I’ll be reaching out to him. He may even come play, but I haven’t been anywhere near the situation. I keep reading. You guys have been providing most of the information that I know.”

Hmm. What do YOU think Kevin should do? Is he right to keep his distance?