History repeats itself as Ben Affleck caught in awkward moment at Jennifer Lopez premiere

Ben Affleck was caught in an awkward moment at Jennifer Lopez's film premiere was caught on camera. Following a mishap, the actor found himself stranded on stage and had to lurk there for over seven minutes.

The Oscar winning actor attended the film premiere of his ex Jennifer Lopez's new film Kiss of the Spider Woman. The musical film had its first showing in New York City and was produced by Ben.

In his capacity as the film's producer, Ben was ushered on stage while the director, Bill Condon was still giving a speech to the audience. He then spend more than seven minutes standing silently behind Bill, with his hands clasped - without the director even knowing he was there.

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Ben was onstage so long, he had to put down the can of soda he'd brought with him, but he patiently waited for Bill to finish his speech. When the director finally turned around to leave the stage, seeing Ben lurking at the back made him jump.

"I didn't know you were there!" Bill laughed. He then walked over and gave Ben a hug and invited Jennifer to join them onstage. Kiss of the Spider Woman is a musical about a political prisoner named Valentín (Diego Luna), who shares a cell with a man named Molina (Tonatiuh). They form an unlikely bond as Molina tells Valentín the plot of a Hollywood musical, starring his favourite actress Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez).

Later, Ben was eventually able to share a few words: "I'm humbled and honoured to be standing up here. It's an honour to be here. This movie is exquisite."

The producer's awkward moment is just the latest in a series of times where he has been snapped looking sad or uncomfortable. An image from 2016 of Ben in a blue jumper and jeans, looking bedraggled and weary, has now become a viral meme after it exploded across social media.

That particular picture became a symbol of quiet defeat for many, who would post it with the caption "Literally me" and recount something that made them sad.

The same year this photo was taken, Ben was also videoed at a press junket for Batman v Superman, looking down in the dumps while his co-star, Henry Cavill, answered a question. The clip was shared widely and eventually used in a parody video called 'Sad Affleck' where it was layered over with negative reviews of the film.

Ben has spoken about the memes. In a 2022 interview, he told the Los Angeles Times that they did not bother him, until his children started to notice them. "I got to a place where [the public's view] was so different from who I am that I just stopped reading and stopped caring.

"But then, as my kids got older and started seeing the internet themselves, that's the difficult part. Even the 'Sad Affleck' meme - that was funny to me. I mean, there's nobody who hasn't felt that way at a junket.

"But then 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."

Alongside providing the internet with a new meme, the Kiss of the Spider Woman premiere was a reunion for Ben and Jennifer. The pair were seen to be cozy together on the red carpet, despite no longer being in a relationship.

Ben and Jennifer were married for two years until the singer filed for divorce. The papers were finalised in January this year, and the premiere was the first time the pair have been seen together since then.

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