JLo's Big Divorce Return At AMAs 50th Anniversary Flops Harder Than Her Ben Affleck Romance
There was a lot of hype before the American Music Awards 50th Anniversary Special kicked off on Sunday, October 6, 2024. Several big-name musical guests were announced, tributes were planned, and all the stars were due to come out like an up close and personal view of the Milky Way. Jennifer Hudson sang Whitney Houston. Stray Kids performed an NSYNC medley. Mariah Carey did one of her own hits, naturally. As for Jennifer Lopez, in the wake of filing for divorce from Ben Affleck on August 20, she was one of the most hotly anticipated guests, and expected to shine the brightest.
In her first televised appearance since the official meltdown of her very public marriage to the "Good Will Hunting" star, we expected the proud mother of twins Max and Emme to prove to the world not even heartbreak could keep her down. As one person wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, "You better sing Jennifer!"
Sadly, that didn't happen. Not even one musical note escaped out of Jenny From the Block's mouth. She didn't twist one hip, do one hair flip, or even offer up a little booty shake. Instead of a blockbuster performance that shook the building and dug painfully deep into Affleck's very soul, she phoned it in — or rather, videoed it in. Lopez's big night was over in one minute and 46 seconds, and we didn't even see her pants.
Jennifer Lopez for #AMAs50 pic.twitter.com/X9WBHpH2eX
— Jennifer Lopez Updates (@JLopezUpdate) October 7, 2024
JLo's non-appearance appearance was anticlimactic
As Jennifer Lopez shared during the American Music Awards 50th Anniversary Special, "Music really does have the power to heal and uplift and to connect us," (via YouTube). When the iconic performer was introduced during the event, however, there was no actual connection happening — not musically, and certainly not in person. Instead, a video popped up with the "Play" hitmaker talking about her past AMA experiences while dressed in a mostly demure pink blouse that we might just have to add to her list of outfits that completely missed the mark.
The singer was scheduled to appear as a special guest, and although it was never officially confirmed that she would be performing, fans assumed that Lopez would be hitting the stage in a sparkly outfit, microphone in hand, and delivering impressive dance moves aplenty. Some were shocked and utterly disappointed when she didn't, and even more so at the lack of real-time JLo. "She will not perform?" questioned one X user, with another answering, "Unfortunately no, not even showing up. Only a VCR for us."
At least she gave fans a little bit of hope, though. The "Hustlers" star had plenty of fond memories from her 2015 hosting gig at the AMAs, and ended her reminiscing with the promise that she might do so again in the future. As long as Lopez shows up live and in person, we'll be watching.