Awkward Jennifer Lopez Moments Seen By Millions

Jennifer Lopez has been in the entertainment business a very long time. She first rose to fame as a fly girl on "In Living Color" in the early 1990s, breaking out wider when she starred as Selena Quintanilla in a biopic about the late singer. She went on to secure numerous hit singles and major movie roles. She also became a tabloid fixture thanks to her many romantic foibles and several marriages. Still, she occupies an interesting place in the culture. In more recent years, she's become just as much of a punchline as an icon, with many debating her talent and whether she deserves the place she's made for herself in the entertainment industry.

In late May 2024, Lopez canceled her planned tour, "This Is Me ... Now: The Greatest Hits," claiming that she was taking time off to spend with her family. This brought a fresh round of mockery online, leading "Pop Pantheon" podcast host DJ Louie XIV to write on X, formerly Twitter, "I want to do [a] piece of investigative journalism as to when the entire world suddenly and inexplicably decided to turn on this woman." 

Nevertheless, Lopez has found herself in the middle of some very awkward situations — many of which took place long before the canceled tour. Here's a look at some of them.

The 2009 edition of the American Music Awards was packed full of buzzworthy moments. Adam Lambert caused major controversy when he kissed a male backup dancer, Lady Gaga lit her piano on fire; and Janet Jackson performed a medley in tribute to her then-recently deceased brother Michael. And then there was Jennifer Lopez, appearing on the show to promote what the announcer described as the debut single from her then-upcoming album "Love?" If you don't remember the song she performed — "Louboutins" — there's a good reason: It is one of JLo's biggest flops.

The performance sure didn't help. Even though the song is about luxury shoes, Lopez confusingly performed it while dressed as a boxer in a ring. At one point, her backup dancers formed themselves into steps, and she climbed atop them. When she leaped off, Lopez fell flat on her iconic backside, staggering back to her feet to continue performing the song. According to the Los Angeles Times, the mishap was edited out of the West Coast broadcast, presumably to save JLo from further embarrassment.

"Louboutins" went over like such a dud on radio that it wasn't ever put up for sale on iTunes, Lopez never filmed a music video, and the album was delayed. When "Love?" was finally released in 2011, the song was nowhere to be found on the tracklist.

Don't be fooled by the rocks that she's got — Jennifer Lopez is still Jenny from the block. At least, she'd have you believe that she still remembers the block, even if the block no longer remembers her. On a 2015 episode of a concert series called "Neighborhood Sessions," Lopez revisited her old Bronx apartment ... and the current resident had zero idea who Jennifer Lopez was.

Trailed by a camera crew, the awkward segment of the show follows Lopez as she walks up the street to her old apartment. "I used to live here," she said, pointing up at a building. The man on the stoop, however, just seems confused. "What is your name?" he asked. Lopez answered, "Jennifer." He then asked for her last name, which she provided, laughing. Then he shoots back, "Who's Jennifer Lopez?" 

The clip regularly goes viral online, circulating often on TikTok as proof that Lopez is out of touch with how famous she thinks she is. In the comments section of one YouTube upload of the clip, fans picked apart Lopez' evident frustration and bemusement at the fact that she'd gone unrecognized. "She didn't even say 'have a nice day' or something to this man," one commenter wrote. Another joked, "I'm so glad he was on that porch."

January 2021 was a tough time for most people. The COVID-19 vaccines hadn't really rolled out yet, and many of us were still stuck at home, waiting to see whether the world would be able to get back on track. Late that month, Jennifer Lopez took to the internet to tell her fans that she had an exciting new challenge for everyone to complete, which she hashtagged the #LoveDontCostAThingChallenge in reference to one of her biggest hits.

In the accompanying video, which she posted on TikTok and Instagram, Lopez was filmed walking down a beautiful beach dressed in a luxurious white overcoat, gorgeous sunglasses, gold bracelets, and more. As she strutted to her song, Lopez tossed her beautiful things into the sand. "In celebration of the #JLo20thAnniversary we're dropping the #LoveDontCostAThingChallenge," she captioned the TikTok video. "Can't wait to see your renditions !!!!"

Trouble was, few people took her up on the offer. Her attempt at virality was roundly mocked on X, then Twitter, where fans expressed their befuddlement in the replies. "Jlo we supposed to throw our valuables on the beach? Is the challenge to find it after we throw it [because] we can't afford to replace it?!? What is the instructions?!" one follower tweeted. Ironically, a couple of fans who did attempt the challenge had their videos taken down due to copyright infringement. Ah, well!

Jennifer Lopez isn't just a singer; she also acts. In the 2019 film "Hustlers," she played Ramona, a sort of maternal figure to a number of erotic dancers who decide to scam the men they perform for. The performance won Lopez critical acclaim, and she even picked up considerable Oscar buzz heading into that year's awards ceremony. In 2020, to promote her role in "Hustlers," Lopez took part in Variety's Actress Roundtable. The event made her part of a group that included other critically acclaimed actors like Scarlett Johansson, Lupita Nyong'o, and Laura Dern.

Over the course of the conversation, fans couldn't help but notice that Lopez seemed to be looking for any opportunity to turn the talk back to herself. During one particular exchange, Johansson heaped praise on Dern, her "Marriage Story" co-star that year. "I had this beautiful creature to act opposite, and be there present with me and hold me, and, you know, this incredibly, like, sympathetic soul that is Laura Dern," Johansson said. Before Dern could react, Lopez cut in. "Also, I'm just listening to you, I was gonna say like, the beauty of performing, right?" she said, while the other actors just stared.

Fans in the YouTube comments pointed out just how often Lopez stepped on her fellow honorees. "How can JLo make this about her ... she talks a lot yet says nothing of substance," one commenter wrote.

In 2024, Jennifer Lopez self-funded and released "This Is Me ... Now," a musical film featuring songs from her new album of the same name. The film cast Lopez as a "love addict," someone who can't stand to be alone because they love love. It tells the story of her relationships, following her through several ill-fated marriages and CGI-drenched cityscapes. It's a truly singular project, and fans were utterly mystified by what it all meant.

But that wasn't even the most awkward thing Lopez released in 2024. Along with the film came an accompanying documentary titled "The Greatest Love Story Never Told." The doc chronicled the production of the film, refusing to shy away from all of the naysayers who were baffled by what Lopez was trying to prove with the film. JLo's "Maid in Manhattan" co-star Jane Fonda, who appeared in the movie as the personification of a Zodiac sign, totally didn't understand the project she'd agreed to take part in. "It feels too much like you're trying to prove something instead of just living it," Fonda warned her (via Variety).

Still, it got more awkward. At one point in the doc, Lopez tries to figure out which celebrities are willing to make cameos, and producers rattle off a list of who isn't interested — and it was a long list. Taylor Swift, Jason Momoa, Jennifer Coolidge, and even Vanessa Hudgens, her "Second Act" co-star, all turned down the opportunity. Ouch.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck's love story is one of the most enduring in all of Hollywood, thanks in part to the media craze that surrounded them in the early 2000s. They met on the set of the film "Gigli," as Lopez explained in an interview with Variety. "The first time meeting him was at the read-through," she said. She continued, saying, "I remember being on the set with him every day and loving it." By the time the film was released, they were together, and Affleck appeared in her music video for "Jenny From The Block."

The trouble was, the movie was bad. Really bad. Legendarily bad. What should've been an exciting opportunity to see two of Hollywood's hottest stars romancing each other was instead a stilted, awkward crime comedy featuring two bad performances from the two otherwise-talented actors. At one point, Affleck's character Gigli called Lopez's character a "dyke-a-saurus-rexi." At another, Lopez was forced to demonstrate multiple martial arts techniques that can remove someone's eyeball. (She's not particularly convincing.) And, in perhaps the movie's most awkward, much-mocked moment, Lopez purred to Affleck seductively, "I thought you wanted to be my b****?"

Affleck later told Entertainment Weekly that the movie's release was one of the worst points in his career. "Jennifer and I happened to be together at a time where the whole industry of celebrity journalism, if you want to call it that, sort of exploded," he said, later adding, "I can't think of a worse outcome."

In addition to being a dancer, actor, and singer, Jennifer Lopez has also put in her time as a reality show judge. She appeared on several seasons of "American Idol," and in 2016, she found herself facing backlash from fans after an insensitive comment she made to an "Idol" hopeful. When Lindita Halimi auditioned for the judges, she revealed that she'd recently lost 150 pounds before competing on the show. Lopez looked shocked upon hearing Halimi's singing voice, turning to fellow judge Harry Connick Jr. to say, "She sings like a heavy girl." After the audition was over, Lopez reiterated, "She sang like a big girl, though!"

"Idol" viewers, understandably, were none too happy about those comments. "How does a 'heavy girl' sing @JLo ?!?!" one person wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Responding to someone who pushed back, the user added, "Last time I checked, fat shaming wasn't a political issue."

For the record, Lopez has discussed her own experiences with body-shaming in the past. According to E! News, JLo told a fan, "They kept telling me to lose weight, and I was a dancer and I was athletic and even my manager at the time who I no longer work with was telling me, 'You need to lose weight. You need to be thinner.'" She ultimately fought back, proclaiming, "If I lose any more weight it won't be me."

In May 2024, rumors began to swirl that Jennifer Lopez' marriage to Ben Affleck might be headed for splitsville, with Lopez' glamarous lifestyle reportedly to blame. An alleged source told InTouch Weekly that their marriage was essentially over already and that Affleck had moved out. "They'll never stop loving each other, but she can't control him, and he can't change her," the source said. "There's no way it could have lasted."

At the same time, Lopez was on a press tour to promote her Netflix sci-fi film "Atlas." At a press conference in Mexico City, she was asked whether she wanted the opportunity to comment on the speculation that she was going to divorce Affleck. Co-star Simu Liu jumped in to say, "Okay, we're not doing that." For her part, Lopez leaned forward, looked the reporter right in the eye, and said, "You know better than that" (via Associated Press).

Fans on X, formerly Twitter, were surprised by Lopez's awkward handling of the interaction. One wrote, "She should've said 'WE ARE FINE!'" They also seemingly took issue with Lopez' tone while chastising the journalist, adding, "This is not [KINDERGARTEN] & that reporter is not one of your kids or step kids!!!"

Jennifer Lopez sparked a fresh round of controversy in 2023, in the lead-up to her film "Marry Me." The romantic comedy included a number of new songs from the "On The Floor" songstress, including a duet with Maluma titled "Lonely." Unfortunately, Lopez decided on some incredibly ill-advised lyrics to describe herself. "Yo siempre seré tu negrita del Bronx," she sang, which translates to, "I will always be your little Black girl from the Bronx." The line was likely supposed to be a callback to "Jenny from the Block," but Lopez has never before claimed to be Black.

The lyrics sparked backlash online. "Aw hell naw, This lady better leave us tf alone," one person wrote on X alongside some laughing emojis. Another found it less funny, writing, "it's a literal slap in the face for every Black [woman], but especially for every Afro-Latinx and Afro-Descendant person whose Latinidad and beauty gets questioned every day due to her influence and 'Latina' look" (via Yahoo!).

For many, the controversy was reminiscent of the conversation surrounding her hit single "I'm Real," in which Lopez fully, openly said the n-word. After the backlash to that lyric, she told the Associated Press, "For anyone to think or suggest that I'm racist is really absurd and hateful to me" (via ABC News). An apology might've sufficed, if you ask us!

In January 2021, which was quite a tumultuous time for the country, Jennifer Lopez signed on to sing at the inauguration of President Joe Biden. She took to the dais in a gorgeous white coat, performing a medley of "This Land Is Your Land" and "America The Beautiful." The former, a Woody Guthrie original, has a long history of being intended as a protest song, demanding the right of all people to share the country. Mere days after the January 6th attack on the Capitol, it resonated.

At the end of her medley, however, Lopez belted out, "Let's get loud!" That is, of course, a line from her 1999 hit single of the same name. Unlike the anthems that preceded it, "Let's Get Loud" isn't typically thought of as being particularly patriotic. Many fans online were confused as to why Lopez added her own music to the end of her inauguration performance, speculating online about her intentions. "Why did JLo think it was okay to add 'let's get loud' to This Land Is Your Land at the inauguration like sumn is really wrong w her," one fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Mostly, though, people were amused by the awkward moment. "JLo throwing 'Let's Get Loud' into the middle of 'This Land is Your Land' at a PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION is the most chaotic thing I've ever seen," one person tweeted.  "S*** was so cringe," another concluded, "but also so funny."