Ben Affleck Addresses Those Memes From the 2023 Grammys

Ben Affleck is ready for fans to sing a different tune about those 2023 Grammy photos.

In case you missed it, the Gone Girl actor attended the ceremony with his wife Jennifer Lopez, who was presenting an award, in February. However, the evening didn't go exactly as he'd planned. Photos and videos of Affleck at the event were turned into memes as some social media users thought it looked like he wasn't having a good time.

But the Oscar winner recently revealed this wasn't the case and shared whether he minded the viral posts. 

"No," he told The Hollywood Reporter in a cover story released March 16. "I had a good time at the Grammys. My wife was going, and I thought, 'Well, there'll be good music. It might be fun.' At movie award shows, it's speeches and, like, sound-mixing webinars. But I thought this would be fun."

Affleck also set the record straight on that exchange he and J.Lo had at their table that was caught on camera.

"I saw [Grammy host Trevor Noah approach] and I was like, 'Oh, God,'" he explained. "They were framing us in this shot, but I didn't know they were rolling. I leaned into her and I was like, 'As soon they start rolling, I'm going to slide away from you and leave you sitting next to Trevor.' She goes, 'You better f--king not leave.' That's a husband-and-wife thing. I mean, some of it is, I'm like, 'All right, who is this act?' Like, I don't keep up. My wife does, obviously. And yeah, it is your wife's work event."

Still, the Argo star can't help but feel judged by the assumptions some may have made after seeing the pictures. 

"And I've gone to events and been pissed off," he continued. "I've gone and been bored. I've gone to award shows and been drunk, a bunch. Nobody ever once said I'm drunk. [But at the Grammys] they were like, 'He's drunk.' And I thought, that's interesting. That raises a whole other thing about whether or not it's wise to acknowledge addiction because there's a lot of compassion, but there is still a tremendous stigma, which is often quite inhibiting. I do think it disincentivizes people from making their lives better."

Affleck, who has spoken openly about his sobriety, then reflected on what it's been like for him to talk about his journey publicly.  

"I became—out of no desire of my own—one of the poster boys for actor alcoholism and recovery and the whole thing," he told the outlet. "And the best part about that is that sometimes people call me up and they're like, 'Hey, can you help me out?' And it makes me feel so good to do that." 

He added, "The big trick of 12-step is the reason they want you to help other people is because it actually helps you more. And often what I'll say to people is, I would avoid [your addiction] coming out if I were you. You don't need to be anybody's poster child. You don't need to f--king tell anybody. That's why there's two words on the front of the book. They're just as important, both of them: Alcoholics Anonymous. It's always anonymous."

While this is Affleck's first time addressing the Grammy memes, Lopez appeared to react to them last month. Sharing the trailer for his new movie Air to Instagram days after the event, the singer wrote alongside the clip, "My husband's happy face."