Steven Spielberg Shunned Ben Affleck After Pool Incident With Son, Colleague Says

Steven Spielberg is no fan of Ben Affleck and even refused to work with the actor after an incident involving the legendary director’s child, according to Mike Binder.

Binder — who’s also a Hollywood filmmaker — made the shocking claim about Spielberg and Affleck on a recent episode of Stephen Baldwin‘s podcast, “One Bad Movie.”

Binder says the bad blood began when Spielberg approached him years ago about collabing on a movie called “Man About Town,” which Spielberg was interested in directing himself. Binder says the two struck a deal with a handshake … but things took a wrong turn when Affleck signed on as the star.

Spielberg, Binder says, refused to work with Affleck, saying his latest film at the time with J Lo — presumably “Gigli” in 2003 — had bombed. Then, Binder says, Spielberg revealed a more personal vendetta, stemming from a pool incident involving his young son and Affleck.

Watch the clip … according to Binder, Spielberg told him Affleck was with Spielberg’s goddaughter Gwyneth Paltrow — the two were dating at the time — on a trip to Spain with Spielberg’s family. Spielberg’s son was playing in the pool, and Affleck was fully clothed when the boy pushed Ben into the pool. That enraged the actor, who then picked up the kid and threw him back into the pool, making him cry.