Ben Affleck revealed what he actually whispered to Jennifer Lopez at the Grammys

The famous Sadfleck meme made a viral return at the 2023 Grammy Awards, but Ben Affleck says it’s not that deep.

According to the actor, who sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss his upcoming film Air, he simply wasn’t prepared to participate in host Trevor Noah’s crowd work. “I saw [Noah approach] and I was like, ‘Oh, God,’” Ben said. “They were framing us in this shot, but I didn’t know they were rolling.”

Yes, that’s what he was whispering about to his wife Jennifer Lopez in all those Tweets and TikTok videos attempting to interpret their interaction. Ben told THR that he was joking with her, saying, “As soon they start rolling, I’m going to slide away from you and leave you sitting next to Trevor.”

Her response? “‘You better fucking not leave.’” Ben added, “That’s a husband-and-wife thing.”

At the time, Jennifer went on the record to say they had the “best time” at the Grammys, which was later seemingly confirmed by a seat filler who spent the evening near the couple and described them as “super lovey dove-y.”

While speaking to THR, Ben Affleck shared that JLo is attempting to get her husband to let his guard down in interviews. “She thinks that, because of experiences that I’ve had, I’ve become very guarded. And she’s right,” Ben said. “I view these things as land mines, where if you say one wrong thing, your career might be over.”

Before the interview, he reported, his wife even gave him a bit of a pep talk. “So she tells me today, ‘Relax, be yourself. Have fun. You’re actually a fun guy who is real and genuine and you just seem so serious,’” he said. “But as in many things, she’s really right.”

He continued, “And she loves me. She’s looking out for me. She’s trying to help me. So it’s like, maybe I ought to fucking listen to her.”