Ben Affleck and Matt Damon had the best time working on Air together, and they became known for writing Good Will Hunting together as best friends trying to make it in Hollywood. Talk about friendship goals. However, when it comes to Wordle there’s a bit of hilarious tension between the longtime BFFs. It turns out there is a celebrity Wordle league that includes the Will Hunting actor as well as Bradley Cooper, Will Arnett and Jason Bateman, and it's quite exclusive, which was proven as Affleck revealed that he hasn’t been invited to play yet. And while talking about the exclusive league this time around he made sure to clarify that he’s not in the group chat because of his closest friend in the industry.
While on the press tour for Affleck’s movie Air, the actor/director has been campaigning to get into the Wordle group. So, when Damon, Affleck and Chris Tucker all appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show, and the singer asked the Air director about this Wordle group, and he was quick to point out that he has not been included in the “Nerdle League,” saying:
I’m trying to get into it. And I’m being velvet-roped by the bouncer here [nods at Matt Damon]. I gotta get like a cooler plus one or something.
I guess if he needs a “cooler plus one” he could just ask his wife, you know global superstar Jennifer Lopez, to join the chat. I feel like that would maybe elevate his chances if an extra guest is what he needs to get in, but I digress.
After Affleck lamented over not being invited to play the game with his pals, Damon explained just how intense this “Nerdle League” is, saying:
Well, we play, Octordle, which is the eight words and then Quordle, which is the four words and then Wordle, which is the one. So we play all three and then you add up your score.
In true best friend fashion, Affleck fired back at Damon, making fun of him before the Jason Bourne star got down to business talking about just how competitive the Wordle league is:
- Ben Affleck: Alright, Good Will Hunting.
- Matt Damon: No, I mean it’s very, very competitive. Will Arnett is in it, Bradley Cooper, Jason Bateman.
Affleck tried to explain that he wasn't mad about not being invited to join the friend's chat about words, however, I think I could hear a twinge of teasing jealousy in his voice. However, Damon wanted to clarify that he does think his pal could handle the game, he just advised Affleck against joining until he could practice a bit more. The silly back-and-forth continued as the two said:
- Ben Affleck: And I’m not, which is… fine. I don’t resent.
- Matt Damon: I advised you--you’re welcome to join, we call it the ‘Nerdle League.’ I was like, ‘You can join the Nerdle League, but you might want to get your scores down.’
- Ben Affleck: The truth is they told me what their scores were, I was like, ‘I can get it.’ Then I did it a couple of times and was like, ‘I might need to train.’
Queue the training montage! If Affleck just practices a bit more I think he could easily compete with the crew. However, Damon and Affleck did discuss the words they absolutely hate getting, like “rarer” and “sooth,” with Clarkson, and overall it was a very nerdy conversation that proved, at least to me, that the boys should let the Argo director join the Nerdle League.
Hopefully, Ben Affleck is able to get into the Nerdle League, and Matt Damon will stop light-heartedly gatekeeping the group chat. While we wait to see if the actor/director gets in on the word games, you can check out the incredibly well-reviewed Air – which will make its debut on the 2023 movie schedule on April 5 and will be available to those with an Amazon Prime subscription in a few months – to witness the movie that brought the two best pals back together as their relationship gets hilariously tested over Wordle.
