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Ben Affleck pokes fun at ‘unhappy’ resting face: ‘Don’t punish me for it’

The actor is clearing up the most “common misconception” about him following that viral Grammys moment with wife Jennifer Lopez.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. Picture: ABC and Getty
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. Picture: ABC and Getty

Ben Affleck is poking fun at his often dispirited public facial expressions, arguing that’s just “how God made” him.

The Argo star – who has become a popular meme source for his despondent demeanour – shared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday that the assumption he isn’t happy is just a “common misconception”.

“Listen, I have a very unhappy-looking resting face,” the 50-year-old joked on the show, New York Post reports.

“This is me content,” he said as his face dropped into a blank expression.

“This is me amused,” he added, making the same face. “That’s how God made me. You don’t have to punish me for it.”

Ben Affleck said he has ‘a very unhappy-looking resting face’. Picture: ABC
Ben Affleck said he has ‘a very unhappy-looking resting face’. Picture: ABC

Affleck’s jest comes after social media users picked up on how “miserable” he looked at the 2023 Grammys in February.

The Oscar-winner – who married Jennifer Lopez, 53, in July 2022 – looked less than thrilled when cameras cut to him and his wife having what appeared to be an intense conversation during a Trevor Noah skit at the awards show.

“However bad of a day you’re having, I promise you’re not as miserable as Ben Affleck at the Grammys right now,” one person tweeted.

A body language expert later told Page Six that the exchange between Affleck and Lopez was “reproachful”.

However, Affleck later cleared the air about what really happened that night, telling Vanity Fair in an interview released on March 16 that he was merely joking with his wife.

Ben Affleck’s resting face went viral after his appearance at the Grammy Awards with wife Jennifer Lopez in February. Picture: Johnny Nunez/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Ben Affleck’s resting face went viral after his appearance at the Grammy Awards with wife Jennifer Lopez in February. Picture: Johnny Nunez/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Many viewers believed Ben Affleck did not want to attend the event with his wife and it showed in his facial expressions. Picture: CBS
Many viewers believed Ben Affleck did not want to attend the event with his wife and it showed in his facial expressions. Picture: CBS

When he realised the camera crew was “framing” them in the shot, he remembered saying to Lopez, “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***ing not leave,’” Affleck said. “That’s a husband-and-wife thing. I mean, some of it is. I’m like, ‘All right, who is this act?’”

Meanwhile, Lopez previously said via Instagram that, despite the assumption that her hubby wasn’t happy during the Grammys, they had the “best time”.

She also poked her own fun at her husband’s solemn appearance via Twitter on February 9. She shared a clip showing Affleck’s classic blank expression in a trailer for his film Air – with, “My husband’s happy face,” written across the screen.

This article originally appeared in New York Post and was republished with permission

Originally published as Ben Affleck pokes fun at ‘unhappy’ resting face: ‘Don’t punish me for it’

Original URL: https://www.thechronicle.com.au/entertainment/television/ben-affleck-pokes-fun-at-unhappy-resting-face-dont-punish-me-for-it/news-story/c415c6d01d13bc23b6d0629a85602038