Hollywood actress-singer Jennifer Lopez recently opened up about her experience of being a “lightning rod for nice things and a lot of negativity.”
At the Los Angeles Times’ 2025 Oscar Actresses Roundtable, the 56-year-old star discussed her struggle to ignore negative comments about her personal life while encouraging others to focus on her work. She remarked, “From the very beginning, for whatever reason, I’ve been a lightning rod for nice things and a lot of negativity.”
Lopez expressed her feelings of being misunderstood, sharing, “And it’s hard because you say to yourself, ‘These people don’t get me. They don’t see me. They don’t understand me.’ Then all of a sudden they do. And then they don’t again.”
The talented performer, who shares 17-year-old twins Max and Emme with ex-husband Marc Anthony, finalized her divorce from Ben Affleck nearly a year ago after rekindling their romance in 2021, 17 years after their initial engagement was called off.
Reflecting on her journey, the ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ star stated that she has always been affirming herself since a young age. “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’. I was always affirming myself and keeping my feet on the ground,” she noted.
She credited her “great” parents for instilling in her a strong sense of self. During the roundtable discussion, JLo joined fellow actresses Gwyneth Paltrow, Emily Blunt, Elle Fanning, Tessa Thompson, and Sydney Sweeney. Sydney emphasized that negativity is “just outside noise” that tends to “kind of disappear” when she steps onto the set.
Lopez agreed, adding, “And what Sydney was saying, 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.”