Ben Affleck used his Saturday Night Live opening monologue to tackle his other big live TV moment of the year.
During his acceptance speech for Argo‘s best picture win, Affleck left viewers scratching their heads when he thanked wife Jennifer Garner by waxing philosophical about how much “work” their marriage is.
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“I thanked my wife while saying the essence of marriage is work,” Affleck said on SNL. “Some uncharitable souls on the Internet took that to mean our marriage is some kind of manual labor. That’s not it. You define what’s important to you by what you dedicate your time to.”
He then brought Garner onstage to “disprove the naysayers,” and asked Garner to explain what he’d meant.
Garner, playing the disapproving spouse, said by “work,” Affleck meant the way they “talk privately” about their commitment to their marriage.
“I’m not sure why you had to share it live to a billion people,” she said.
Affleck, pretending to be unnerved by his wife’s comments, tried to recover: “But our marriage is a work of love. What would you have called it in a speech?”
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“A gift,” she responded. “Our marriage is a gift.”
Affleck fumbled a bit more, saying that was one way to look at it. Then he turned sincere.
“I want to tell you how I wish I had ended that speech: I couldn’t do any of the things I do without you, without your support. You’re my angel, my wife, my world.”
Unfortunately for Affleck, the touching moment was shattered when Garner pointed out that he was reading the speech off a cue card.
Affleck hosted the NBC show’s season finale.
