Jennifer Lopez's Most Controversial Moments

Jennifer Lopez has frequently found herself at the center of controversy throughout her celebrated career. In 2021, the singer and actor tried to create a new challenge that borrowed its name and message from her hit 2001 song "Love Don't Cost A Thing." Lopez started things off by posting a clip of herself walking down the beach and throwing away some items from her incredibly lavish life to match the song's lyrics and iconic music video. Unfortunately, she essentially became the first and last person to ever do the Love Don't Cost A Thing Challenge since it wasn't exactly well-received online. 

Some commentators on X, formerly known as Twitter, were left scratching their heads at how they were supposed to do the so-called challenge. Others clapped back at the "All I Have" songstress, with one critic writing, "Ma'am this is tone deaf. Can't nobody afford to be throwing their stuff on the beach," (via The Independent). Another commentator echoed their sentiment by pointing out that most people couldn't afford to be careless with their expensive items during a pandemic in particular. J.Lo's apparent attempt at normalcy didn't go down too well either. 

In March 2024, Prime Video shared a TikTok clip from Lopez's movie "This is Me...Now" in which she proudly stated that she loved to mess up her hair since it reminded her of the time she was a "crazy little girl who used to be f****** wild," running around the streets of the Bronx. Needless to say, the comments section was filled with people ridiculing her failed attempt at relatability. However, Lopez's tone-deafness is the least of her problems.

While Jennifer Lopez was filming her music video for "If I Had Your Love" in 1999, the singer's path crossed with that of controversial rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs, and they started dating. In December of that year, Lopez, Jamal "Shyne" Barrow, Diddy, and his bodyguard, Anthony "Wolf" Jones, got into a fight at a New York City club and shots were fired. In the aftermath, Combs, Lopez, and Jones fled the scene and police officers had to chase them around the city. Although the "On The Floor" songstress and her beau were initially charged, she was cleared shortly afterward. 

The gunfire injured three people including Natania Reuben, who alleged that Combs shot her in the face. At the time, the "I'll Be Missing You" hitmaker held a press conference to deny his role in the incident. However, in 2024, fellow rapper Rodney "Lil Rod" Jones Jr. filed a sexual assault lawsuit against Diddy, in which he also claimed that the music mogul had fessed up to causing the nightclub shooting. 

Lopez allegedly "carried the firearm into the club for him and passed him the gun after he got into an altercation with another individual," per USA Today. The celebrity couple called it quits in 2001, and she later confirmed to Vibe that his infidelity had caused their split. However, their relationship garnered controversy over two decades later, as X users circulated a snap of Lopez at one of Diddy's infamous "Freak Off" parties in 2000. 

In 2023, Jennifer Lopez launched her cocktail brand Delola, and immediately received tons of criticism. For starters, some found the venture a bit hypocritical since the "Hustlers" star has long maintained that she doesn't drink alcohol to promote good skin and a healthy body. The singer's past comments led many people to write the business off as a cynical cash grab from an already fabulously wealthy star. However, in July, the entrepreneur posted an Instagram video clarifying that she had started enjoying a cocktail occasionally after completely swearing off alcohol for years. At the same time, her then-husband Ben Affleck had notably been open about his struggles with alcohol dependency. 

One Instagram commentator expressed confusion at J.Lo's changing views about drinking, further remarking, "And her partner is sober? It doesn't matter what type of 'good for you ingredients' and 'health labels' (gluten free) is in alcohol, it's still a carcinogenic toxin." Unfortunately, Lopez's skincare line, JLo Beauty, didn't fare very well with audiences either. In January 2021, the pop star posted an Instagram video gushing about how their face mask apparently made her skin look younger. However, commentators slammed Lopez for unfairly chalking her looks up to skincare when they were supposedly the result of plastic surgery (the "Play" hitmaker has long maintained she's all natural). 

Likewise, Redditors criticized the brand for supposedly posting edited photos and keeping their ingredients list a secret. JLo Beauty seemingly didn't do too well in Sephora either since it was taken off their shelves in 2024.

In 2024, Natasha Ramos, one of Jennifer Lopez's former backup singers, posted a TikTok video where she claimed that she had a pretty big part to play in one of the singer's biggest hits: "Jenny From The Block." As Ramos detailed, "I think the problem with 'Jenny From the Block' is that they kept my laugh, and they kept ad-libs, and they turned her vocals like all the way down, and the 'from the Bronx' part is me." It's worth noting that she previously shared another TikTok stressing that Lopez hadn't stolen the song from her, and confirming that it was originally written for her, as the name suggested. 

However, according to the former employee, the finished version sounded too similar to her reference track because Lopez's main vocals were turned way down, and she primarily contributed to the background vocals. Back in 2020, Ramos took to X to assert that she didn't receive all her dues from the mega-hit song. Ashanti had a similar story about another one of J.Lo's songs when she spoke to Blogxilla in 2014. 

The "Foolish" hitmaker shared that she had both written and sung the demo recording for "Ain't It Funny" before she received a record deal with Murder Inc. The final version of the track featured her background vocals, hook, and ad-libs. Ashanti admitted that it was a "bittersweet" experience because although she admired Lopez, she still had to bid farewell to a track she really adored at the record label's request. 

Jennifer Lopez and Shakira's performance at the 2020 Super Bowl is widely considered to be one of the best halftime shows. However, in the accompanying documentary "Halftime," J.Lo confessed that she didn't think it was a good idea to split the iconic show's halftime duties with Shakira. The "Love Don't Cost a Thing" hitmaker explained that they only had six minutes each to give the performance of a lifetime. Unfortunately, that wasn't entirely possible because each woman could only perform about 30 seconds of a song to give the other performer enough room for their music. 

However, that wasn't Lopez's only grapple with the performance, as she railed, "I'm trying to give you something with substance, not just us out there shaking our f***** asses and f**** belly dancing," (via Buzzfeed). The outspoken singer continued, "I want something real. I want something that's gonna make a statement, that's gonna say we belong here and we have something to offer." Shockingly, she wrote off their joint performance as the "worst idea in the world." Her remarks garnered major backlash, as some social media users believed that she was disrespecting Middle Eastern, African, and Mediterranean cultures by painting an ancient dance form like belly dancing as vapid. 

Others posited that Lopez was shading the "Hips Don't Lie" songstress, who had made belly dancing one of her signature moves. Still, plenty of people defended the "Selena" star by pointing out that she was angry about the NFL's desire to water down her political statement about immigration by forcing her and Shakira to share the slot. 

During a June 2024 episode of her "Citizen McCain" podcast, Meghan McCain confirmed our suspicions about Jennifer Lopez's diva behavior. The former "View" cohost recalled that she was a "deeply unpleasant" person. "You don't always have to be so nice, but it was surprising given that people like Kim Kardashian couldn't be more delightful," McCain reasoned. "When you're coming on a show for a 10-minute segment... just fake it till you make it for 10 f**** minutes." The podcaster also believed that the "Ain't Your Mama" singer's entourage was far too big and seemed more appropriate for a president than a pop star. In fact, according to McCain, one of Lopez's employee's only tasks was just to hold a lit-up mirror so she could do her makeup touch-ups. 

That very same month, a shocking report in the Daily Mail similarly professed that the "Anaconda" star wasn't terribly kind to her employees and supposedly even enforced a strict "no eye contact" rule with them. Insiders insisted that the A-lister wanted her employees to look away from her during conversations and even barred chauffeurs from looking at her in the rearview mirror. J.Lo's long list of demands for a performance, meanwhile, supposedly includes seemingly unnecessary things like an all-white dressing room with a variety of fresh flowers. Even her trailer requirements were painfully specific. Suffice it to say, she may not be "Jenny From The Block" anymore.