Jennifer Lopez is a force to be reckoned with. Not only is she an incredible movie star, but her career as a singer has reached insane heights. It’s very rare that someone can pull off both acting and singing with such effortless grace. Jennifer Lopez is the epitome of women-power as can be seen through her songs, Ain’t Your Mama and El Anillo.
However, back in the late 90s’, when Jennifer Lopez was riding a wave of back-to-back victories, the women-power seemed to have been lost. In a now very infamous interview, the actress did not hold herself back as she put several female celebrities on blast. This includes Salma Hayek who was put into a box by Jennifer Lopez.
Jennifer Lopez Disses Salma Hayek
Jennifer Lopez starred in the 1997 film, Selena based on the true story of the legendary singer, Selena Quintanilla-Perez who was shot and killed by her friend. However, according to Salma Hayek, the role was first offered to her and she turned it down because she thought it was distasteful as not much time had passed since the singer’s death.
Talking to Andy Cohen, Hayek stated,
“Yes, they offered it to me like a week after she died. It was a little distasteful. They were already planning on making this movie.”
Hayek then added that Lopez was perfect for the role stating, “Yes, of course. I think Jennifer did a great job. I really do think it was for her.” However, Lopez, who found her breakthrough role in Selena, did not reciprocate the love.
In a 1998 interview with Movieline, Lopez commented on Hayek stating that she was offered the role first. The Maid in Manhattan actress went ahead to say that Hayek’s words made her laugh and called it a publicity stunt. Boxing the Eternals actress in “S*xy bombshell” roles, Lopez stated,
“We’re in two different realms. 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. Columbia offered me the choice of Fools Rush In or Anaconda, but I chose the fun B-movie because the Fools script wasn’t strong enough.”
Yikes! Lopez had her claws ready and was out to get Hayek! Lopez also put other stars on blast including Gwyneth Paltrow, Winona Ryder, and Cameron Diaz.
Jennifer Lopez Gives a Clarification
Since this interview was before the emergence of social media, Lopez probably received much less heat for her words than she would have today. However, the backlash was just enough that three years later, Lopez finally addressed her bold statements and stated that she was heavily misquoted.
Talking to Vanity Fair, Lopez stated,
“I was so misquoted and taken out of context, and it’s like a sore subject for me. 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.”
In 2018, the Hustlers actress once again commented on the infamous interview while talking to NPR. She stated,
“It gave me a lot of notoriety in the moment, and then it made a lot of people in the industry really pissed off. And so when I look back at it now, I go, ‘You know I never wanted to hurt anybody.’ I didn’t realize that my words could impact people that way.”
The interview with Movieline is still considered to be one of the most infamous interviews out there and things would indeed have turned out much differently if it took place today and not in 1998. The cancel culture would have been out to get her!
Source: Movieline
