Sometimes a meme breaks through the endless churn of online content and permanently alters our actual lexicon. This year, “is somebody gonna match my freak?” and “that’s that me espresso” are strong early contenders for phrases we may actually utter out loud for years to come. But I personally am growing partial to “which could mean nothing,” a newly resurfaced four-word meme imbued with decades of history between two specific men. I am referring, of course, to Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.
Because I was born in the year 1998, I was not previously aware of the close relationship between the two beloved actors (commonly abbreviated to “Mattfleck”) until maybe a week ago, when edits of the pair started showing up on my TikTok For You page. Most of them are lighthearted fancam-style edits, cutting together clips of the Good Will Hunting co-writers throughout the years.
The first few I saw, set to songs like “Silver Springs” by Fleetwood Mac and “The Greatest” by Billie Eilish, almost brought me to tears with laughter upon my initial viewing. But as I kept scrolling, I found more… earnest dissections of the “Mattfleck” relationship, some told through the lens of the rumors about Affleck’s marriage to Jennifer Lopez. Those were way less fun to me than the fancams, though still anthropologically fascinating in their own right.
TikTok content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
TikTok content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
Regardless of the content, the phrase “which could mean nothing” accompanies nearly all of these edits — a nod to the ways in which gay romance often gets written off as mere homosocial affection. This blog, in fact, was inspired by my beloved straight best friend sending me a tweet about Affleck reportedly “leaning on” Damon in the midst of rumored relationship trouble with J. Lo. Naturally, her text, and every single reply to the tweet, consisted of those four words: “which could mean nothing.”
According to Know Your Meme, the phrase “which could mean nothing” has been used to refer to Mattfleck since February 2021, when celebrity blogger Lainey Gossip posted an article with the headline, “Matt Damon not wearing wedding ring again during another visit to Ben Affleck’s house which could mean nothing.” (Unfortunately for me, this headline is funnier than anything I have ever written and will ever write.) A screenshot of the blog then made the rounds on the internet, and as the internet does, “which could mean nothing” became shorthand for an implied “... or everything.” And I, for one, am thoroughly charmed by the Mattfleck memes.
Before you jump on me for singing the praises of Mattfleck when I am proudly a Gaylor skeptic, consider the following: Does Taylor Swift have a joint Wikipedia page with Karlie Kloss? No. You know who does have a joint Wikipedia page? Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Have any of Taylor’s partners ever made throuple jokes about her and Dianna Agron? No, but you know who did do that? Jennifer Garner, Affleck’s ex-wife, who called Damon her “darling husband’s darling husband” onstage at a 2010 event — a fact I have just discovered through the TikTok account “mattfleck.memes” and the “Damon/Affleck” LiveJournal.
And while yes, it seems as though there are definitely people out there who are earnestly dissecting what Affleck ordered for lunch in 2005 and what that says about his relationship to Damon, the earnest Mattfleck shippers seem to be a significant minority. For the most part, it seems as though Gen Z is just putting its own spin on a bit that has been around longer than many of us have.
TikTok content
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At the end of the day, I have no interest in knowing anything about the dating lives of either Matt Damon or Ben Affleck. It probably is true that all of this does indeed actually “mean nothing.” But we likely will never know for certain, and isn’t that beautiful? Setting unhelpful “queerbaiting” discourse aside, I welcome the celebs putting the “homo” back in “homosocial.” I welcome the tantalizing mystery — the reminder that the private lives of the rich and famous are fundamentally unknowable to us all, despite the parasocial illusion that social media has created. I welcome guys kissing their homies goodnight on the red carpet.
And listen, if it gets Matt Damon to party with drag queens in Mykonos, I think that’s a net good.
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