Jennifer Lopez Wondered if She Was Unfairly Targeted by Critics Because She Was a Minority
Jennifer Lopez was used to facing a lot of criticism for her work. But she felt a lot of the negative feedback she faced might’ve come from an unfair place.
Jennifer Lopez’s critics affected her success
Even when Lopez was experiencing a career high, she was bothered by her detractors’ opinions. Back in her younger years, Lopez’s successful debut feature Selena coincided with her debut hit record On the 6. The movie didn’t do too well at the box office, but garnered massive critical praise from critics, with some highlighting Lopez’s performance. Likewise, On the 6 was a commercial success, going gold the first week of its release back in 1999.
But she had enough skeptics at the time to make Lopez doubt herself and her skills as an artist.
“I’m killing it, and then everybody’s like, ‘She can’t sing, she can’t dance, she can’t act, she’s just some pretty face or her butt is big’ or whatever they were saying about me and I started thinking, ‘Yeah, that’s true,’” she recalled according to People. “And it really hurt me for a long time.”
The more successful she became, the louder some of her critics were. So much so that Lopez wondered if the source of her criticism was about more than just her work.
“The rumors at that time were so endless,” Lopez said to Complex (via HuffPost). “I still haven’t figured that all out completely. I’ve thought sometimes, ‘Was it because I was a woman? Was it because I was a minority? I was like, ‘Why me? Why are they picking on me so much? What have I done?’ It’s funny. Men get praise when they are successful, like, ‘Look how great he’s doing.’ Women get criticized for some reason. I don’t understand it. All I know is that because I’ve stuck around for so long people realize, ‘Oh, that must not be true.’ ‘We finally got to know the real her.’”
How Jennifer Lopez handled harsh criticisms
Regardless of the true reasons behind the criticism, Lopez felt the best way to deal with her skeptics was to keep moving forward.
“I just couldn’t allow myself to let that become who I was. I was like, ‘No, I’m gonna make another record, I’m gonna make another song, I’m gonna make another movie,’” she said. “‘I’m a great actress, I’m a great singer, a great dancer, I’m great at this stuff! And I’m gonna keep going!’ And I did. And that’s all I did. I just kept going. And I just started working harder and harder than everybody else.”
Lopez also maintained confidence by believing in herself and her abilities. She gave credit to her upbringing for helping her navigate through the entertainment industry. Although she’s come a long way from her humble beginnings, Lopez was born and bred in the Bronx. The lessons she learned in her hometown came in handy later on in life.
“Thank God I’ve been blessed in that way. But I’m the same person. They know that I’m still Bronx-y. I still wear hoops. I still like to rock sneakers and sweats. I always felt like I was out of place in Hollywood. But I also felt that the street smarts I had from growing up in New York served me well out here,” Lopez said.
Over the years, what’s further helped Lopez prosper was ignoring the critics in her own head.
“I think that, for me, the most important thing for me is not listening to all the outside voices, but making sure that the voice that I’m speaking to myself, that roommate is a kind roommate, is a good roommate, is someone that’s lifting me up like [producing partner Elaine Goldsmith] does every single day,” she added.
