Jennifer Lopez attends the Los Angeles Premiere Of Amazon MGM Studios "This Is Me...Now: A Love ... [+]
Jennifer Lopez’s new documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told has sparked controversy and backlash on TikTok after clips featuring Lopez talking about her upbringing in the Bronx went viral.
Lopez is in the midst of a pivotal career moment, having released a new album This is Me … Now and the accompanying musical film, This is Me … Now: A Love Story, as well as The Greatest Love Story Never Told, a documentary exploring the relationship between her and husband Ben Affleck.
In the trailer for the documentary, Lopez says The Greatest Love Story Never Told is “about facing the truth of who you really are."
On TikTok, that sentiment has very much backfired, as creators on the video-sharing app insist that Lopez is misrepresenting herself.
What Happened On TikTok With J Lo?
Many TikTok commentators see Lopez as performative and insincere, accusing her of exaggerating her working-class background, as well as her connection to the Bronx.
One clip that inspired many mocking imitations sees Lopez tousle her hair while looking into a mirror, reminiscing on her upbringing in the Bronx.
“I like taking my hair out like this,” she says. “It reminds me, like, when I was 16 in the Bronx, running up and down the block. Crazy little girl who used to f***ing be wild and no limits, all dreams.”
Residents of the Bronx responded on the video-sharing app, calling Lopez out for her alleged lack of contribution and connection to the neighborhood, or simply laughing in response to the clip.
One TikTok creator photosbyangela posted a video alleging that she and Lopez had gone to the same high school, and claims to have waited for years before speaking out, having been “annoyed in silence.”
In the TikTok clip, she bluntly accuses Lopez of “lying” and of using the residents of the Bronx to “look human.”
“We both attended an all-girls high school in an Irish and Italian neighborhood, so you weren’t ‘running up and down the block,’” she says.
Other clips from the documentary also drew attention from TikTokers, seemingly showing Lopez to be self-absorbed. Others dived into previous interviews with the star and came to similarly negative conclusions regarding her character.
Another clip blew up, this time from a Vogue interview in which Lopez reveals her go-to bodega order — ham and cheese on a roll, a bag of chips and an “orange drink.” Referencing the drink, Lopez coyly adds “If you know, you know.”
Commentators didn’t know, which lead to more jokes.
Lopez was perceived to be too rich, too out-of-touch, and trying too hard — a common perception of many celebrities today — the internet is always happy to have a laugh at the expense of the rich and famous.
But the discourse wasn’t all jokes and memes — several creators claimed to have received copyright strikes on their TikTok accounts in response to their critical commentary on The Greatest Love Story Never Told.
Copyright strikes can greatly affect a creator’s reach and potential earnings; for TikTokers who make a living from the video-sharing platform, the move was viewed as a low blow from Lopez’s team.
TikTok creator Kyle Marisa said that her account had received copyright strikes on every single video that contained footage from The Greatest Love Story Never Told — as a result, her account is now permanent banned.
“J Lo’s narcissism single-handedly crushed the main portion of my small business,” Kyle Marisa said. “I didn’t even have the opportunity to download or save 4 years worth of my content that had been viewed over a billion times and accumulated over 50 million likes.”
Kyle Marisa has since created a new account, but lamented the four years of hard work that was put into building her sizable TikTok following of almost 700,000, having lost hundreds of thousands of followers from the ban.
She told me that her earning potential has been severely impacted by the loss of her account, estimating that “J Lo has cost me more than 4 figures of income just for March 2024,” which affects her ability to access necessary medical care.
TikToker creator Quint Roper-Sirvent said that he received a copyright strike in response to a critical review of Lopez’s documentary; the video had amassed millions of views before it was flagged and according to Quint, was fair commentary, “intended to satirize the overwhelming narcissism I was witnessing.”
“We should be able to share our views about content we're constantly exposed to without being penalized,” he said. “It’s time to question the celebrities being pushed on us and advocate for a culture that values open dialogue.”
