Bill Simmons’ new show certainly got off to an explosive start Wednesday night thanks to a rant by Ben Affleck that had some fans speculating about whether he is drinking again.
Affleck, who previously went to rehab for alcohol, joined the Boston Sports Guy on the premiere episode of HBO’s “Any Given Wednesday” to talk about the New England Patriots and Deflategate.
Affleck’s reps did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
“Deflategate is the ultimate bulls–t, f–king outrage of sports ever … it’s so f–king stupid,” Affleck raged on the show.
Comparing Tom Brady‘s four-game suspension going into next season to a baseball player being benched for 40 days after being busted for steroids, Affleck said: “If the NFL really knew how to test for steroids, there’d be no f–king NFL.
Many on Twitter speculated the “Batman” actor was inebriated. Some people offered jokes, and others concern.
“Whether you like Ben Affleck or not, the guy’s been waging a war against alcohol for years. Today, he’s losing. It’s NOT funny. It’s tragic,” tweeted television writer Jose Molina.
BTW – we taped AGW in the late-AM, Ben got fired up about DeflateGate during the convo, that's it.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) June 23, 2016
Simmons tweeted that they taped the segment in the morning and Affleck “got fired up about DeflateGate during the convo, that’s it.”
Here are some of the tweets.
Was Ben Affleck drunk last night on Bill Simmons’ new HBO show? https://t.co/rwlcja3Rkc pic.twitter.com/U4grbz9AnR
— Salon (@Salon) June 23, 2016
https://twitter.com/JenKirkman/status/745976815001436161
https://twitter.com/GMPaiella/status/745976737281024000
https://twitter.com/samkalidi/status/745867985873698816
https://twitter.com/ajmarechal/status/745864325265563648
https://twitter.com/JoseMolinaTV/status/745859837599322112
https://twitter.com/realHamOnWry/status/745858604868206592
https://twitter.com/SkinWade/status/745848292773400576
https://twitter.com/BeatleBailey68/status/745837550519091201
https://twitter.com/RNs_Funhouse/status/745831167824257024
Whoa this Ben Affleck interview on #AnyGivenWednesday. A true barstool rant–sad, riveting, and kind of concerning.
— Scott Tobias (@scott_tobias) June 23, 2016
My memories of the first #AnyGivenWednesday: Wondering if Ben Affleck was coked up, and Charles Barkley's upper lip sweat.
— Ryan McGee (@TVMcGee) June 23, 2016
I lack the words to properly describe Ben Affleck’s condition on the Bill Simmons show. #AnyGivenWednesday
— Daniel Fienberg (@TheFienPrint) June 23, 2016
https://twitter.com/victor_diesal/status/746006535667613696
Affleck’s flood of profanities even appeared to leave Simmons speechless at times.
Watch the NSFW video above.
“Any Given Wednesday” airs Wednesdays on HBO at 10 p.m.