She famously professed to be humble Jenny from the Block, vowing ‘no matter where I go, I know where I came from’.
Yet two decades on from releasing her chart topping single, Jennifer Lopez has earned a reputation for being anything but modest.
In fact, the Bronx native, 56, has cemented herself diva status, with several stories about her exchanges, demands and meltdowns raising eyebrows in showbiz circles.
Just last week, a video of J Lo on the Golden Globes red carpet went viral after fans lambasted her ‘rude’ exchange with E!’s Glambot director Cole Walliser.
In the footage, the mother-of-two appeared to ignore Cole as he set up the 360 camera booth for her to pose in.
While Cole later defended the star, fans took it as yet another example of her diva behaviour, which the Daily Mail now reveals in full.
Is Jennifer Lopez the biggest diva in Hollywood? The bizarre demands and meltdowns that have cemented her prima donna status (pictured last month)
Just last week, a video of J Lo on the Golden Globes red carpet went viral after fans lambasted her ‘rude’ exchange with E!’s Glambot director Cole Walliser
‘Rude’ red carpet exchange
Viewers were left fuming after a tightly edited video of J Lo at the Golden Globes appeared to show her ignoring Cole as he prepped her for the Glambot shot.
Cole, who was in charge of the high-speed camera which produces slow motion, glamorous images of celebrities, greeted Jennifer who responded by seeming to murmur ‘Hi, nice to see you,’ while looking down.
Commenting on the clip, fans penned: ‘@jlo buy some manners’, ‘Such a snob. Hard to watch’, ‘She didn’t even look at him.’
However, Cole launched into an unlikely defence of the Grammy-nominee, insisting that ‘the internet needs to just calm down’.
The Canadian director assured his fans that he had no problem with the way J Lo reacted, stating: ‘I didn’t take it personally. It didn’t feel rude in that moment.’
He went on: ‘I think there’s a couple things that added to the fuel of this idea. One, she’s just down to business. The carpet was closed. She’s ready to go inside. She knew what she was gonna do. She got into the position.
‘It’s just unfortunate that the position was she was facing away from me. So I am talking to her, she is looking away, but she’s getting ready for the move.
Viewers were left fuming after a tightly edited video of J Lo at the Golden Globes appeared to show her ignoring Cole as he prepped her for the Glambot shot
Cole launched into an unlikely defence of the Grammy-nominee, insisting that ‘the internet needs to just calm down’ and that he didn’t think J Lo was being rude
‘I knew what she was doing. I knew she was getting ready. I knew it was late. We were just getting through it. That moment didn’t feel rude.’
Cole then made it clear that posing for the Glambot is something a celebrity can freely choose to do or not do.
‘Anybody that stops [for the Glambot], I already like you because you’re taking the time to do my thing and this is generous of you because you don’t have to do it,’ he shared.
Red carpets are ‘generally insane,’ he noted, adding, ‘It’s just a really crazy environment.
‘When people land on the Glambot, sometimes they don’t know what they’re walking up to. And I’m not just talking about JLo here, I’m talking about a bunch of celebrities in the past.’
He stressed: ‘These celebrities, they’re at work. They’re there to do a thing to promote their show, to be a guest, to be a presenter… they’re working.’
Diva dressing room demands
Dannii Minogue claimed Jennifer ‘refused to perform’ on Nineties music show Top Of The Pops unless her dressing room was completely redecorated (Pictured: J.Lo on TOTP in 1999)
Australian singer Dannii (pictured) alleged that J Lo demanded that ‘everything had to be white’ or she wouldn’t go on stage
While you may assume that other celebrities would understand the rider requests of their peers, J Lo left one fellow star speechless with a bizarre demand.
Dannii Minogue shocked fans when she revealed that Jennifer ‘refused to perform’ on Nineties British music show Top Of The Pops unless her dressing room was completely redecorated.
The Australian singer alleged that J Lo demanded that ‘everything had to be white’ or she wouldn’t go on stage.
‘And while you hear those diva stories, there is one I can actually vouch for,’ she said on The 90s with Dannii Minogue.
‘I was at Top Of The Pops and was told Jennifer Lopez was on her way, but she refused to perform unless her backstage room was redecorated.’
‘I was told everything had to be white, including the sofa. I asked to go in and see the room as she wasn’t there in that moment… I was lapping up every detail,’ Dannii added with a laugh.
Dannii went on to share her confusion as to why Jennifer would want an all-white room due to all the body makeup performers often wear.
‘All I could think was, “Girlfriend is covered head to toe in body makeup. How do you sit on a white couch?”‘
Bizarre ‘eye contact’ rule
Last year, industry insiders claimed Jennifer also has a bizarre ‘no eye contact rule’ while dealing with crew members or hired help.
‘A friend of ours worked lighting backstage at one of her concerts. All of the workers were strictly instructed: DO. NOT.LOOK. AT. MS. LOPEZ. There’s to be NO. EYE. CONTACT,’ one online user alleged.
Another user had a similar tale, claiming: ‘I knew people who worked at Mohegan Sun [a casino in the US] and they were instructed to totally avoid eye contact with J Diva.’
‘They still laugh about her to this day because far bigger celebs have appeared there that have been far more gracious and friendly,’ they added.
Another claimed even limousine drivers have subjected to the same rule.
Last year, industry insiders claimed Jennifer also has a bizarre ‘no eye contact rule’ while dealing with crew members or hired help
‘Per my insider friend, her limo drivers were instructed the same, they couldn’t even look at her in their rear view mirrors,’ they alleged.
An American podcaster and TV industry veteran who goes by the stage name LABellatini also shared a story about Jennifer’s supposed ‘no eye contact rule’ in a TikTok video.
‘I have a friend who worked audio on a JLo project, and she had him kicked out. Stopped the whole production and everything because he looked her in the eyes,’ she alleged.
‘I have like 15 more stories like this,’ she added.
Several X/Twitter users have made similar allegations about Jennifer’s on-set behaviour.
One claimed they used to work at a Californian ski resort where Jennifer was filming a commercial for a car company.
‘We received a notice at the front desk at the resort that we were to make zero eye contact with her. Can you believe it!!??’ they wrote.
Someone else who claimed to have worked with Jennifer also said crew members were ‘warned’ before the songstress arrived that ‘under no circumstance’ were they to make eye contact with Jennifer- even if they were talking to her.
Cookie-gate
Jennifer reportedly threw British daytime show This Morning into chaos when she made an appearance in 2019 to discuss her style secrets
According to presenter Phillip Schofield (pictured with Holly Willoughby) her team insisted that she was given a cookie upon arrival, which was warmed to a certain temperature
Jennifer reportedly threw British daytime show This Morning into chaos when she made an appearance in 2019.
According to presenter Phillip Schofield, her team insisted that she was given a cookie upon arrival, which was warmed to a certain temperature.
They insisted that the star, who was on the show to talk about her style secrets, should also be served with a glass of full fat milk, which should be served cold.
Phillip and co-star Holly Willoughby poked fun at the singer on This Morning as they tucked into their own milk and cookies.
Phillip began by telling viewers: ‘One secret J. Lo didn’t mention was her love for milk and cookies.’
Holly continued: ‘More specifically a cookie warmed to the perfect temperature with a glass of full fat milk, cold.’
Phillip added: ‘There was quite a commotion when they worried the cookie wasn’t the right temperature.’
However, this was hotly contested by a a source close to J Lo, who told the Daily Mail: ‘It’s blatantly not true. It didn’t happen.’
Tense run-ins
Meghan McCain didn’t mince her words when she recalled meeting Jennifer, branding the singer a ‘deeply unpleasant person’
Meghan McCain didn’t mince her words when she recalled meeting Jennifer, branding the singer a ‘deeply unpleasant person’.
Recalling the time she interviewed J Lo on The View in 2019, she claimed the singer showed up with a bigger entourage than ‘the President’, and that she had a ‘not so nice’ experience with the hitmaker.
Meghan made the shocking claims in 2024 amid the news that Jennifer had cancelled her stadium tour.
‘I actually feel bad right now because I feel like [there’s] bullying happening to JLo and I don’t want to add to that,’ Meghan began.
‘But she just is a deeply unpleasant person. She had the biggest entourage I’ve ever seen of any celebrity.
‘More than Kim Kardashian, more than the President. And I just don’t really understand why it was needed.’
Recalling the time she interviewed J Lo on The View in 2019 (pictured), she claimed the singer showed up with a bigger entourage than ‘the President’
Meghan went on: ‘J Lo does not have a reputation for being a nice, normal person. I’m not exposing [anything].’
The political commentator also branded J Lo’s documentary as ‘not good’ and said her acting as of late ‘has not been great’.
Meghan went on: ‘She needs to humble herself a little bit because she’s getting [hate] all over the internet especially on TikTok.
‘There’s a lot of people, like real people, lower level people who work on shows, service workers, waitresses who have really negative stories about her.
‘And again, I just know my experience. I was a host at The View and she was not nice. Whatever, you don’t always have to be nice it was just surprising given that people like Kim Kardashian couldn’t be more delightful.
‘When you’re coming on a show for a 10-minute segment, just fake it until you make it for 10 minutes.’
But is it all as bad as it seems?
While her diva reputation is undeniable, J Lo has insisted that she’s simply misunderstood and that the term applies to all women they ‘reach a certain amount of success’
While her diva reputation is undeniable, J Lo has insisted that she’s simply misunderstood.
Discussing her reputation in a chat with the LA Times last month, Jennifer compared herself to ‘a lightning rod for nice things and a lot of negativity’.
‘It’s hard because you say to yourself, “These people don’t get me. They don’t see me. They don’t understand me,”‘ she explained.
‘Then all of a sudden they do. And then they don’t again. Even from when I was very young, I would always say, “I know who I am. I’m a good person. I know what I’m doing. People wouldn’t hire me if I wasn’t good at what I do.”
Jennifer added: ‘I’d have to block out the noise so I can put my head on the pillow at night and go, “I did good today. I was a good person. I was kind to people. I worked really hard. I’m a good mom.” That has always helped me through.’
She also claimed her diva reputation is sexist, arguing that women are given that label upon ‘reaching a certain amount of success’.
She told The Hollywood Reporter in 2016: ‘I’ve always been fascinated by how much more well behaved we have to be than men.
‘I did get a moniker of being a diva, which I don’t deserve.’
She concluded: ‘We [as women] are not allowed to have certain opinions or be a certain way, or be passionate.’
