Ben Affleck attended the 65th Grammy Awards arguably for the sake of Twitter, which could not get enough of the Oscar winner’s “I’d rather be anywhere else” reaction shots during Sunday’s telecast.
The “Gone Girl” star accompanied his wife, actor-singer Jennifer Lopez, to the ceremony and, due to the power couple’s prime seating inside Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena, were seen throughout the night reacting to performances, speeches and quips. But Affleck — no stranger to memes of exasperation — appeared disengaged in the background of host Trevor Noah‘s frequent roaming monologues and bored or “miserable” during performances throughout the night, much to the delight of social media.
“Someone please check on Ben Affleck #GRAMMYs,” tweeted the Chicks in the Office account.
For the record, we did check on Affleck and a representative for him and representatives for Lopez did not immediately respond Monday to The Times’ requests for comment.
Meanwhile, images and videos of the subdued “Argo” star-director lighted up the social-media platform, especially a clip of a tense moment between him and Lopez that piqued the interest of amateur lip readers searching for trouble in paradise. Affleck and Lopez wed last year.
“When the publicist checks Twitter tells your wife to make you smile for the camera. Oh Ben Affleck,” wrote a user who tweeted the clip.
“Ben Affleck worrying if P Diddy was going to perform in 50 Years of Hip Hop ….” added another, referring to Lopez’s ex’s possible involvement in one of the evening’s standout performance collaborations.
And although music legend Stevie Wonder‘s and Chris Stapleton‘s joint performance got the “Argo” star to his feet, Affleck half-heartedly nodded along to the Motown tribute.
“Ben Affleck would rather be anywhere else than front row at the #Grammys2023 watching Stevie Wonder crush Higher Ground,” tweeted Daily Beast writer Matt Wilstein.
“Ben Affleck wants to go home Jen. Everyone in this video looks like they are vibing to a different song,” tweeted another user.
“Ben Affleck is every introvert everywhere. You can see his batteries draining in real time. Man is already at 23% #GRAMMYs #SaveBen,” wrote another.
“Ben Affleck is the 8-year-old dragged to a wedding, wants to go home and play video games,” tweeted NFL veteran Matt Leinart.
“Ben Affleck giving off big ‘Only sober guy at a wedding where you know nobody other than your wife’ vibes,” wrote another.
Lopez, who is promoting her upcoming “This is Me…Now” album, attended the awards show to present the award for pop vocal album and was fully engaged when winners took the stage. She notably cheered on global superstar Bad Bunny, who won the award for música urbana album and when he gave a shoutout to their beloved Puerto Rico.
Although TV cameras frequently cut to the couple, roaming photographers captured some moments of levity between Affleck and other attendees, including Dwayne Johnson, who was seated at the couple’s table at one point, and “Succession” actor Adrien Brody, who shared a huge laugh with his fellow Oscar winner.
