Bennifer celebrity bubble bursts, says Forbes

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez saw their celebrity status take a dive when their romance hit the rocks, according to a new survey.

Money magazine Forbes said both Ben and Jen have fallen off its annual Celebrity 100 list which is being published later this week.

Meanwhile, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel – who recently put their differences behind them – have returned to the list, which considers earnings and public exposure.

The full list, and the name of the winner, is yet to be announced, but in a preview Forbes senior editor Peter Newcomb revealed some of the winners and losers.

“What the Forbes list does is it combines how much somebody gets paid with really how much people are paying attention to them,” Mr Newcomb told the US showbiz programme Entertainment Tonight.

While acres of column inches were dedicated to Affleck and J-Lo in the past year they were knocked off the list partly because of their disastrous movie together, Gigli.

“She was number five on the list last year. He was number seven. They both fell off,” Mr Newcomb said.

“The fact is both their movies didn’t perform well, and, in fact, what they can ask for now per picture has gone down considerably.”

The Osbournes, who ranked number 12 last year on the back of their fly-on-the-wall show, also dropped off the list, as did rapper Eminem.

“I think the results are always very shocking,” said Mr Newcomb.

“Last year Jennifer Aniston was at the top of the list. How do you not put Steven Spielberg at the top? I mean, who’s more powerful in Hollywood than that? But this measurement allows for all sorts of surprises.”

The full list and winner will be revealed later this week ahead of the Friday publication.