Apparently, all it takes is one miserable face to spawn a thousand memes and a myriad of conspiracy theories, although the fact Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are prime tabloid fodder makes it even easier for fans to speculate about the reasoning behind the actor’s thoroughly unimpressed visage for the entirety of the Grammy Awards.
Some found a silver lining by praising the two-time Academy Award winner for going full method as Bruce Wayne ahead of his presumed DC swansong in The Flash, while the excuse trotted out claimed that he was tired, which is about as uninspiring and eye-rolling as Affleck’s expression.
Then there are those proclaiming the recently-wed Bennifer V2.0 are already sailing towards the rocks, but we’d put that down more to salacious scuttlebutt more than anything. However, the experts have now weighed in with their opinions, with forensic lipreader Jeremy Freeman offering his two cents to Entertainment Tonight.
“I believe when Ben Affleck whispered into… Jennifer Lopez’s ear, she replied with, ‘Stop. Look more friendly. Look motivated.’ Then she turned away and Ben Affleck shuttered uncomfortably… and said, ‘I might.'”
Not the most explosive or revelatory outcome, then, but we all know what it feels like to be told to straighten up, fly right, fix our posture, and at least pretend that we’re having a good time at an event or function. In the case of Affleck, it’s beginning to look (or be lip-read) as though he was getting a hard time from his wife, who was ushering him to act as if he wouldn’t rather be anywhere else.