Nikki Glaser’s Ben Affleck Divorce Joke Axed From Golden Globes

Nikki Glaser brought her signature wit to the 2025 Golden Globes stage, delivering a monologue packed with sharp one-liners aimed at Hollywood’s biggest names. However, the comedian recently revealed that not all of her jokes made it to air—including a particularly biting quip about Ben Affleck’s love life.

Appearing on “The Howard Stern Show” after her well-received Golden Globes performance, Glaser shared one of the jokes that was ultimately scrapped from her opening monologue.

“[I almost said], like, ‘Am I gonna roast or am I gonna toast? You know what? I’m not roasting. I’m gonna toast,’” Glaser recalled. “And I just did all these toasts that were roasts. Like, ‘Here’s to Ben Affleck, I can’t wait to see which Jennifer you try to ruin next.’”

The comedian admitted she debated the joke’s impact, explaining, “And I argued like, ‘Oh, I didn’t say ruin them. I said he tried to ruin them, so it’s not against them.’ But I was like, ‘That would have been insane.’”

Affleck, of course, has had a highly publicized romantic history. He married Jennifer Garner in 2005 before their eventual split in 2015. Later, he rekindled his romance with former fiancée Jennifer Lopez in 2021, and the two tied the knot in 2022.

While Affleck’s romantic history didn’t make it into Glaser’s final script, the actor still found himself in the comedian’s comedic crosshairs during the live broadcast.

During her opening monologue, Glaser quipped, “Tonight, we celebrate the best of film and hold space for television. Yes, ‘Wicked,’ ‘Queer,’ ‘Nightb-tch.’ These are not just words Ben Affleck yells after he orgasms. These are some of the incredible movies nominated tonight.”

Despite the roast-heavy format, Glaser maintained that her goal was never to hurt feelings. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight ahead of the awards show, she clarified her comedic intentions.

“You won’t be crying later about my jokes,” she said. “Just be a cool person that laughs at yourself. If I make a joke about you, I promise you it’s not meant to take you down or point out something about yourself that no one else has noticed.”

With her sharp humor and quick wit, Nikki Glaser cemented herself as a standout host of the 2025 Golden Globes, even if some of her most daring jokes didn’t make the final cut.

“I think the Blake Lively–Justin Baldoni thing is such a hot-button thing right now that even a mere mention of it will seem like I could be on the wrong side of things, even though I would never be,” Glaser shared candidly.

The comedian didn’t stop there, adding her unfiltered thoughts about Baldoni. “I also don’t want to give his name any— I’m mad I even know his name, to be honest with you, so I don’t need to say it anymore.”

And she stayed true to her word. There were no jokes about Lively or Baldoni’s ongoing legal drama during the Golden Globes award show.

The controversy surrounding the “It Ends with Us” production has been making waves in recent weeks. Lively, who both starred in and worked under Baldoni’s direction in the highly anticipated film adaptation, accused Baldoni of sexual harassment during production.

According to the lawsuit, Baldoni allegedly displayed explicit images and videos to Lively and made inappropriate inquiries about her personal sex life. The complaint also claims that when Lively spoke up, Baldoni retaliated with a smear campaign to tarnish her professional and personal reputation.