Ben Affleck reached the million-dollar question with two lifelines, zero certainty, and a host who admitted he was guessing, and then he pushed all the chips toward Jimmy Kimmel anyway. The Massachusetts native conquered Who Wants to Be a Millionaire on Wednesday night’s episode.
Teaming with Jeopardy! champion Jamie Ding to turn the $250,000 they banked in last week’s season premiere into the full $1 million prize, every dollar of it pledged to the Eastern Congo Initiative, the nonprofit Affleck co-founded in 2010 to fund community-based groups in eastern Congo.
The final question was pure chaos: “In an annual Thanksgiving tradition, all but which of these have been the names of turkeys pardoned by a U.S. president?” The options: Peanut Butter and Jelly, Tater and Tot, Mac and Cheese, or Spaghetti and Meatball, testing knowledge of a tradition formalized by President George H.W. Bush back in 1989. “You must be kidding me,” Affleck said, staring down the board.
Enter the Ask-the-Host lifeline, and the night’s comedy engine. “You’re absolutely right. I do a bit about this on the show. Every year,” Kimmel admitted, before hedging his way to an answer: “If I’m wrong, I’m so sorry. But Spaghetti and Meatball is my final answer.“
Still unsure, the pair burned their last lifeline calling Ding’s longtime trivia partner, who declined to even guess. But the call produced the line of the night, as Ding told Kimmel about his friend: “we’ve been through a lot of trials and tribulations together. You know, just like Ben and Matt.” Out of options, Affleck made the call that defined the episode: “I would bet on Jimmy. I would go for it.“
Ding locked it in with a million dollars for charity hanging on a hesitant guess about poultry. “I have such a stomach ache right now,” Kimmel groaned, echoing the anxiety written across both contestants’ faces. Then the long, agonizing pause, and the reveal: Spaghetti and Meatball was correct, confetti rained down, and Affleck and Ding jumped into a hug as the fifth winners of Kimmel’s entire tenure hosting the show.
One Year After Matt, Ben Matches the Feat
The symmetry made it sweeter. Almost exactly one year earlier, Matt Damon won the same $1 million alongside Jeopardy! legend Ken Jennings, a fact Kimmel weaponized in the premiere by ribbing Ding for teaming with Boston’s other Good Will Hunting star after Jennings partnered with “the accursed Matt Damon,” Kimmel’s beloved fake nemesis of two decades.
The internet ran straight to the lore. “Matt Damon is going to be very mad Ben took a picture with Jimmy,” one fan joked, while another reached for the obvious and correct reference: “How you like dem apples.” Boston kept it to two words: “Wicked smaht.” And the skeptics grumbled on brand: “So instead of normal people that need it, big time millionaires are now contestants, got it,” one wrote, apparently missing where the money went.
Which means the man who built a two-decade comedy feud with Damon just handed Damon’s best friend a million dollars for charity, on a turkey question, while apologizing in advance. Somewhere, Matt is laughing hardest of all.
