Ben Affleck explains ‘grouchy’ Grammys face: ‘I didn’t know they were rolling!’

16 March 2023

Ben Affleck has insisted his “grouchy” expression at the 2023 Grammy Awards was the result of being caught off guard by a Trevor Noah sketch.

Ben Affleck has insisted his grouchy expression at the 2023 Grammy Awards was the result of being caught off guard by a Trevor Noah sketch

Footage of the ‘Gone Girl’ actor, 50, went viral from the February 6 ceremony when he was sitting beside Jennifer Lopez, 53, who he married last year, but he has insisted he was having a good time at his “wife’s work event”.

He told The Hollywood Reporter about its host Trevor, 39, springing a skit on him which led him to looking unimpressed: “I saw (Trevor approaching) and I was like, ‘Oh, God.’

“They were framing us in this shot, but I didn’t know they were rolling.”

Ben was also captured having a conversation with Jennifer before the shot of his face, prompting some fans to speculate he was “grouchy” as they were rowing – with a lip reader saying they thought Jennifer had told him: “Look more friendly. Look motivated.”

But the actor added to THR it was just a chat about a “husband-and-wife thing”.

He added: “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****** not leave.’ That’s a husband-and-wife thing. I mean, some of it is, I’m like, ‘All right, who is this act?’… 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.”

Trevor’s skit saw him pretend to be on the phone with his mum after Sam Smith performed his ‘Unholy’ track, and apparently telling her while he sat beside Jennifer: “Mom, it wasn’t the actual devil. No, they were just dressed as the devil, mom.”

Jennifer said after the awards she had the “best time” with her “love” at the ceremony.

Dda-of-three Ben, who told in March 2017 he had received rehab treatment for his alcohol addiction, admitted he had been to other Hollywood events “p*****” or drunk “a bunch” in the past – and said his expression at this year’s Grammys prompted some to troll him by saying he had been drinking.

He added: “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.”