Ben Affleck slammed by actress Evan Rachel Wood: 'Try getting raped in a scene'

Evan Rachel Wood and Ben Affleck. Photos / Getty

Director Kevin Smith has inadvertently thrown his old pal Ben Affleck in hot water - over comments he alleges Affleck made 20 years ago.

Smith was presenting a screening of his 1997 film Chasing Amy at an LA film festival this week.

The low budget romantic comedy starred a then-unknown Ben Affleck, who had a kissing scene with fellow actor Jason Lee in the script.

According to Smith, Affleck said, "A man kissing another man is the greatest acting challenge an actor can ever face".

After they'd shot the scene, Smith recounted that Affleck had announced: "Now, I'm a serious actor".

Did Ben Affleck really say those words? Who can be sure - it's a second-hand tale of a 20-year-old anecdote.

But it didn't stop the quotes from being picked up by celeb gossip blogs worldwide, presented as though Affleck had held a press conference in 2017 announcing that a same-sex kiss was the toughest acting challenge ever.

Westworld star Evan Rachel Wood was one high-profile person who got wind of the comments, slamming Affleck on social media: "Try getting raped in a scene. Also, grow up Ben," she tweeted.

She later deleted the thread saying:

Smith himself has been quick to dampen the misleading reports of his comments, forcing a retraction from Paper Magazine when they tweeted it out as if it were present-day news.
"He SAID it in 1997 when he was in his goofy 20s. No way he STILL feels that," he wrote.

I love your mag, but this is misleading & unfair Tweet copy. He SAID it in 1997 when he was in his goofy 20's. No way he STILL feels that. https://t.co/kS4RHuNYMz

— KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) July 18, 2017