Jennifer Lopez Is Being Called "Cringe" And "Delusional" On Social Media–Here's Why

Topping the reasons why people dislike J.Lo has always been her seeming obsession with the spotlight. Obviously, all celebrities want publicity to a certain extent, but Lopez often takes attention-seeking to another level, whether it's her tortuous tango with Ben Affleck, the frequent over-hyping of her own talents, or her harsh criticism of other women. With that in mind, let's dig into all the reasons why people seem to be losing their love for Jenny from the block.

An Infamous 1998 Movieline Interview Just Resurfaced

In a recently resurfaced interview, Lopez had some audacious things to say about fellow actresses.

"We're in two different realms," she said about Salma Hayek. "She's a sexy bombshell and those are the kinds of roles she does. I do all kinds of different things. It makes me laugh when she says she got offered Selena, which was an outright lie. If that's what she does to get herself publicity, then that's her thing."

"A lucky model who's been given a lot of opportunities I just wish she would have done more with," she added about Cameron Diaz. "She's beautiful and has a great presence, though, and in My Best Friend's Wedding, I thought, 'When directed, she can be good.'"

She also offered her thoughts on Gwenyth Paltrow: "Tell me what she's been in? I swear to God, I don't remember anything she was in. Some people get hot by association. I heard more about her and Brad Pitt than I ever heard about her work."

And Claire Danes: "A good actress. Her emotional and inner life are available to her, which is a good start. But I feel like I see a lot of the same thing with every character she does. She's not that way in U-Turn, though."

Winona Ryder also couldn't escape critique: "I was never a big fan of hers. In Hollywood she's revered, she gets nominated for Oscars, but I've never heard anyone in the public or among my friends say, 'Oh, I love her.' She's cute and talented, though, and I'd like her just for looking like my older sister, Leslie."

Finally, she had some acting pointers for Madonna: "Do I think she's a great performer? Yeah. Do I think she's a great actress? No. Acting is what I do, so I'm harder on people when they say, 'Oh, I can do that, I can act.' I'm like, 'Hey, don't spit on my craft.'"

That interview was full of other gems, such as Lopez's answer to a question about how she was landing so many movie roles at the time:

"Because I'm the best. I feel I can do anything—any kind of role. I'm fearless. I work really hard. I'll just get better as I go along because I'm open to getting better. If you have the goods, there's nothing to be afraid of. If somebody doesn't have the goods, they're insecure. I don't have that problem."

When the interview was criticized, she claimed she was misrepresented:

"I was so misquoted and so taken out of context, and it's a sore subject for me," Lopez told Vanity Fair three years later. I don't like to hurt anybody. I don't like to hurt their feelings. I like to joke, so I do that sometimes. What they wrote in that article hurt people. I didn't realize that my words could impact people that way. You know, I was a nobody at that time…So I was still in that kind of fan mentality, back in the Bronx."

Other famous quotes from the interview include her thoughts on "stealing" a lead role from Sandra Bullock:

"I have this attitude, and it won't change no matter how big I get, that you have to fight for things you want. You can't expect things to be handed to you on a platter, even if you can fill theatres week in and week out. Because there's always somebody like me ready to kick down the door and steal the job right out from under you."

And this little nugget about her husband at the time, Ojani Noa:

"It's tough for me because the men I'm attracted to, for some reason, haven't gotten it together. Even my husband, I feel, has a lot of potential but he's not at the point where…I mean, even though he has lots of contacts, even though he's doing his own thing, opening a club and restaurant here, whatever business he gets in, he's not gonna make as much money as me. That's something he has to deal with and to live with, which is tough for someone like him."

Their marriage lasted one year.

She's Not a Girl's Girl

Similarly, Lopez seems to have a tendency to talk over others and bring nearly all topics of conversation back to herself. An "Actress Roundtable" is circulating on TikTok, and in one clip Scarlett Johansson is praising Laura Dern only to have Lopez cut her off mid-sentence and start talking about her own performances.

"I never knew it, but J.Lo is Michael Scott," wrote one commenter.

Once J.Lo interrupts, she then proceeds to dominate the conversation, with almost all of her commentary being exclusively about herself. In another clip, Lupita Nyong'o is describing the psychologically complex role she played in the movie Us when J.Lo suddenly cuts her off to describe a sexy dance she performed in Hustlers.

The faces of the other actresses say it all.

"J.Lo is that one girl in English class who never did the reading but who's always talking," assessed one commenter. Others in the comments were wondering why Lopez was even part of the roundtable given that many of the other actresses are considered more successful and well-rounded.

Her Movies and Music Aren't Amazing

For all her self-hype and criticism of others, it's generally agreed upon that most of Lopez's movies are underwhelming at best or whole-heartedly cringe at worst. She's starred in over thirty films, but most people can only name a couple, and the plots of those movies are suspiciously similar–a reserved woman who's overlooked until she gets a makeover and then is suddenly a bombshell swept off her feet. That plot is fun from time to time, but it's not exactly a full-bodied acting career.

Similarly, her music career is peppered with pop hits but none of them are particularly moving or memorable.

The Bennifer Saga

This list would not be complete without mentioning JLo's tumultuous relationship with Ben Affleck, which seems just as strained and performative today as it did fifteen years ago when the pair were splashed on every tabloid. Affleck's miserable face being forever preserved as a meme might be a hint that Lopez might not be the most pleasant person to live with. That, and the fact that she famously let random musicians rifle through his private love letters to her without his consent for "inspiration" is yet another moment of questionable cringe.

For those unfamiliar with the story, Lopez wanted to make an album about her and Affleck's romantic reunion and invited musicians to her house. That's when she shared the private letters, which Affleck had titled, "The Greatest Love Story Never Told." In a recent documentary, viewers can see Affleck looking shocked when his private letters are being passed around.

“I did really find the beauty and the poetry and the irony in the fact that it’s the greatest love story never told," he says to the camera. "If you’re making a record about it, that seems kind of like telling it.”

Closing Thoughts

While it's undeniable that Jennifer Lopez is beautiful, talented, and entertaining, it's equally hard to deny some of her more questionable qualities.

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