Ben Affleck argues in favour of his shirtless scene in 'The Rip'

Ben Affleck is not affected by negative criticism of his shirtless scene in The Rip.

For those unaware, the 53-year-old American actor’s action thriller film, The Rip, has hit theatres today, January 16, 2026.

The recently released movie stars Affleck as Detective Sergeant JD Byrne along with his longtime friend Matt Damon, who is playing Lieutenant Dane Dumars. The Rip has an ensemble cast including Teyana Taylor, Shasha Calle, Scott Adkins, Steve Yeun, and others.

In one of the scenes, Affleck stripped off “for no reason,” which drew heavy criticism but he is not taking the mounting condemnation seriously; rather, he defended the act.

During his Thursday, January 15 interview with The Fox 101.9’s Fifi, Fev & Nick, Brendan Fevola, Australian Rules football star turned radio host, asked, “Now who would win in a fight? Because Ben, when you took your top off at the start of the show for no reason… Geez, you’re ripped up.”

Damon, who was also there, was overcome with laughter at Fevola’s remarks before the Good Will Hunting star shot back in a light-hearted manner.

Affleck playfully retorted, “There was a reason! I want people to see it. I don’t go to the gym for nothing. I’m middle-aged, I’ll take all the…you know. It’s going away. I want it memorialized before it’s gone.”

While Damon shared a different theory as to why the Pearl Harbor actor appeared almost naked on screen, saying, “It’s called actor vanity.”

Notably, it was not the first time the pair discussed the shirtless scene, as The Interstellar star had roasted Affleck in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.

“He changed his shirt for a scene in this movie and boy, did they tweak the lighting for a long time on that bathroom, just shadows, just getting everything just perfect for him,” Damon said at that time.