Is Justin Theroux’s Benji Barnes Based on Jeff Bezos? All the Similarities in ‘Devil Wears Prada 2’ Explained

Now that The Devil Wears Prada 2 is out in theaters, moviegoers believe that Justin Theroux‘s character might be based on a real-life public figure.

In the new movie, the 54-year-old Emmy winner plays Benji Barnes, an eccentric tech billionaire who tries to buy Runway so that his girlfriend Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt) can run it.

After seeing the movie, fans have noticed that there are a lot of similarities between Benji and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Benji and Jeff both had post-divorce body transformations

Towards the beginning of the movie, fans are first introduced to Benji in flashback images when he’s heavier and still married to his wife Sasha Barnes (Lucy Liu). We learn that he’s a tech mogul and following his divorce from Sasha, he underwent a major physical transformation, which included losing weight (through Ozempic) and getting a hair transplant.

The New York Times recently published a lengthy profile on Jeff‘s wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos, in which the interviewer mentioned Jeff‘s glow-up since he started dating Lauren.

“Now, he is gym-hardened, frequently shirtless, captured mid-laugh in paparazzi photos, canoodling on his megayacht, a man who has discovered joy, love and cosmetic dermatology,” wrote Amy Chozick.

They both buy lavish gifts for their partners

In the new movie, Emily re-enters the world of Runway as an executive at Dior and she wears outfits covered with the brand’s logo. Throughout the movie, Benji lavishly buys Emily whatever she wants.

This appears to be another nod to Jeff, as he reportedly buys lavish gifts for Lauren, who is frequently seen wearing expensive designer outfits.

Benji and Jeff have similar ex-wives that do philanthropy work and give their money away to charities

Another similarity between Benji and Jeff comes in the form of their ex-wives. In the movie, fans meet Sasha Barnes (Lucy Liu), who has become one of the richest women in the world following the divorce, lives a very private life, and uses her money to fix world problems.

Before marrying Lauren, Jeff was previously married to novelist and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. Following their 2019, Lauren lives an extremely private life now and as of December 2025, she has given a total of $26.3 billion to over 1,600 charitable organizations. With an estimated net worth of $40 billion, MacKenzie is one of the richest women in the world.

Jeff was rumored to be trying to buy Condé Nast so that Lauren could run Vogue

One of the major plot points of The Devil Wears Prada 2 is Emily convincing Benji to buy Runway (the fictional version of Vogue) so that she can be the new Editor-in-Chief of the magazine.

For years, it has been rumored that Jeff has been trying to buy publishing company Condé Nast so that Lauren could replace Anna Wintour as the new Editor-in-Chief of Vogue. A 2025 Vogue digital cover of Lauren in her wedding dress was viewed by commentators as a gesture from Anna.

However, Lauren has denied these rumors.

Emily Blunt denies her character is based on Lauren Sanchez

A spokesperson for Emily Blunt recently told The Independent that it was “absolutely not true” that her character in the movie is based on Lauren Sanchez.

“The character was originally developed 20 years ago, so this couldn’t be farther from the truth,” the spokesperson.

What has Justin said about playing Benji?

As for Justin, he didn’t mention Jeff at all while chatting with People about playing Benji, who the actor says is “such an idiot.”

“The most fun thing about playing him was how silly he was,” Justin said. “He’s such an idiot.”

“To be able to be ridiculous, wear ridiculous clothes — I have a really ridiculous hair thing going on, I’m bald, but then it’s like my hair’s falling out — that was the most fun.”

Did you know these three actors had their roles cut from the finished movie?!

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