Ben Affleck Talks Sobriety, Reacts to Viewers Calling Him 'Drunk' at Grammys: 'Still a Tremendous Stigma'
Ben Affleck, despite viral memes saying otherwise, had "a good time at the Grammys" — and he took note of those claiming he appeared drunk at the award show.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the Air actor/director, 50, reacted to his facial expressions in the audience of the Grammy Awards in February becoming social media fodder, viewers assuming he was bored at the event, where he accompanied wife Jennifer Lopez.
"No. I had a good time at the Grammys. 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," said Affleck.
Of the moments caught on camera, the star said, "I saw [host Trevor Noah approach] and I was like, 'Oh, God.' They were framing us in this shot, but I didn't know they were rolling. I leaned into her and I was like, '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.' That's a husband-and-wife thing."
Kevin Mazur/Getty Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck, Lauren Hashian, and Dwayne Johnson at the Grammys
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He called the music awards show his "wife's work event" and admitted he has, in the past, "gone to events and been pissed off. I've gone and been bored. I've gone to award shows and been drunk, a bunch. Nobody ever once said I'm drunk."
But at the recent Grammys, however, "they were like, 'He's drunk,' " said Affleck, who has previously been open about his sobriety. "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. I do think it disincentivizes people from making their lives better."
Kevin Mazur/Getty Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck at the Grammys on Feb. 5.
Affleck told THR that he became "one of the poster boys for actor alcoholism and recovery and the whole thing" — "out of no desire of my own" — when he opened up about getting sober.
"The best part about that is that sometimes people call me up and they're like, 'Hey, can you help me out?' And it makes me feel so good to do that," he shared. "The big trick of 12-step is the reason they want you to help other people is because it actually helps you more. And often what I'll say to people is, 'I would avoid [your addiction] coming out if I were you. You don't need to be anybody's poster child. You don't need to f---ing tell anybody.' That's why there's two words on the front of the book. They're just as important, both of them: Alcoholics Anonymous. It's always anonymous."
Photography by Austin Hargrave for The Hollywood Reporter
Lopez appeared to acknowledge husband Affleck's demeanor at the Grammys when she shared the trailer for his movie Air last month, adding one noticeable edit to the video.
Before the trailer starts in her post, there's a still image of Affleck in character as Nike co-founder Philip Knight with a caption that reads "my husband's happy face," in an apparent reference to internet commentary on his expression at the Grammys. "AIR … cannot wait!" Lopez added in the caption.
Air is in theaters April 5.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
