Morissette Calls Out Affleck During Los Angeles Residency

During her Los Angeles concert series, titled Butterfly with a Machete, Alanis Morissette recounted that a man had once asked why she had not “lead with my sexuality.” She then named Ben Affleck, her co-star in the 1999 film Dogma, prompting a clip of his character’s head exploding to play on screen.

Morissette played God in the film, while Affleck portrayed Bartleby. The performance blends music with storytelling, and footage captured by an audience member showed the moment. Some viewers joked about the scene and Morissette’s role in the movie; others criticized her for publicly revisiting a decades-old remark. Affleck praised Dogma’s cast in an interview last year. His representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The moment follows Morissette’s appearance on the Handsome podcast, released on November 3. Asked whether painful experiences with men had ever made her want to be a lesbian, she said she is pansexual. She confirmed that identification when podcast co-host Tig Notaro asked about it. Pansexuality refers to experiencing romantic, emotional or sexual attraction regardless of a person’s gender identity or sex. Morissette is currently performing the Los Angeles residency.