Actor Ben Affleck has been the subject of a meme for years after paparazzi caught him catching a seemingly exasperated smoke break in 2016.
Ten years later, you could say the meme was due for an update, and we apparently got one on the day of the midterms!
A new paparazzi photo of Affleck smoking while looking exhausted has surfaced—but this time it has an "I voted" sticker in it, too.
Paps caught Affleck having a smoke outside his Los Angeles polling place last Tuesday, and the internet is, naturally, having a field day.
You surely have seen the original Ben Affleck meme, of course.
Snapped a whole decade ago, it shows Affleck outside a house in London in a blue sweater and jeans having a seemingly agonizing smoke break.
According to The Cut, the photo was snapped on Affleck's 44th birthday, which he spent in London with now ex-wife Jennifer Garner and their three kids.
Affleck and Garner wouldn't actually divorce for another two years, but they were reportedly already estranged at the time—hence Affleck's clearly agitated demeanor in the photo.
Over the years, the 2016 photo of Affleck has become a meme to signify all of the instantly relatable, exasperated, "here we go again" parts of life.
Which, of course, is how pretty much all of us were feeling going into the midterms! Elections have been terrifying slogs for the past 10 years now.
But the stakes were even higher for the 2026 midterms, with two years of being terrorized by our own government and the tech oligarchs enabling it under our belts, and the very future of democracy hanging in the balance.
So Affleck needing a big long drag of a cig right after voting? Yes, very relatable, even if you've never touched a cigarette in your life!
Thankfully, this particular election went a very different way than we've come to expect!
Nonetheless, on social media, everyone felt instantly seen by Affleck's new meme template.
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And on Twitter, people found Affleck's newest work of paparazzi genius absolutely exhilarating.
On Reddit, many prognosticated that the new photo will become the political meme as the 2028 presidential election gets underway... in like six months, god help us.
One Redditor wrote:
"The 'I voted' sticker just makes this sooo much better. I fear this is gonna be used a lot when the 2028 election comes around." —u/nagidrac
Another quipped:
"This will be the perfect meme/picture in the future for when you’ve voted begrudgingly for something bc the available choices are dog sh*t. 😂" —u/Random0101user
The 2028 election is pretty much guaranteed to be a nightmare, but at least we already have a perfect meme at the ready going in. Thanks, Ben! Never quit smoking!
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