For the entirety of Kanye West’s first performance on the “Saturday Night Live,” many viewers had something else on their mind: why was host Ben Affleck crying?
While introducing West to the live audience, Affleck, who had been struggling to keep from unintentionally laughing in the show’s early sketches, maintained an oddly somber facial expression
The Oscar winner, in fact, appeared to be fighting back tears as he, with a dejected, cracking voice, joked that Kanye was the person everyone truly “came here to see.”
Given the playfully sarcastic, cordial and upbeat nature of the line, Affleck’s sad facial expression and whimpering delivery seemed particularly out of place.
Thousands of social media users shared their questions about Affleck’s demeanor; none, at least as of press time, had answers.
Update: Affleck continued to perform as if nothing was wrong. He did not show any signs of sadness while introducing Kanye West’s second performance.
Update 2: A video of Affleck’s unusual introduction (and Kanye’s performance) follows: