Maybe It’s Time To Leave Ben Affleck And The ‘Sad Affleck’ Meme Alone

Illustration: Damon Dahlen/HuffPost; Photos: Getty What does it mean when we're constantly mining one man's sadness for memes? Kevin Mazur via Getty Images Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck had enviably good seats at the 65th Grammy Awards Sunday night, but cameras caught Affleck looking like he'd rather be anywhere else throughout the night. Ben Affleck as me every day collecting my ice coffee and will to live pic.twitter.com/yHMMImtr7S — Emily December 31, 2020 So given all that rich meme history, Affleck’s Grammy glumness was bound to make headlines: “Twitter Agrees: Ben Affleck Should’ve Stayed at Dunkin,” Vulture wrote. “Did anyone check on ‘miserable’ Ben Affleck after the Grammy Awards?” the LA Times asked. Affleck himself has said that he worries about how his kids will respond to the “Sad Affleck” memes, telling the LA Times last year: “My kids see it and I think, ‘Oh, are they going to think their dad is fundamentally sad or they have to worry about me?’ That’s really tough.” He’s also spoken candidly about his struggles with addiction, depression and anxiety ― so being surrounded by a group of people drinking at an industry event could have been triggering.