Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez All Smiles Amid Backlash for Howard Stern Interview

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez don't seem the least bit fazed by all the backlash for him laying, at least, some blame for his bouts with the bottle on Jennifer Garner -- in fact, he's getting ready to talk even more.

Bennifer 2.0 looked happy as clams Wednesday on Hollywood Blvd as they strolled into the El Capitan Entertainment Centre ahead of his talk show appearance tonight with Jimmy Kimmel.

Ben and Jen were holding hands, flashing those pearly whites and showing no signs of strife after his controversial radio hit with Howard Stern ... where Ben blamed his ex-wife, Garner, for helping kickstart his alcoholism.

As we reported ... Ben went on Howard's show this week and said he felt "trapped" in his marriage with JG -- because of their kids -- and he started drinking to cope, saying the feeling made him turn to booze.

Ben's comments rubbed a lot of people the wrong way online ... in part because Garner was very supportive during his struggles with alcohol, famously taking him to rehab in 2018.

J Lo's not a scheduled guest on Kimmel, so looks like she's just there for support. It'll be interesting to see if Ben addresses all the flak he's catching for the Garner remarks -- but at least publicly, his new boo is standing by him.