Jennifer Lopez has become a household name with her perseverance and dedication that gave her a successful Hollywood career. Having started her career in the late 1980s, she got her breakthrough with 1997’s Selena which ultimately directed her on the path to superstardom. However, her journey to get into the position she enjoys today was not easy.
Jennifer Lopez shared her experience about being s-xually harassed by a director when she was just at an early stage in her career. In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar in 2018, she shared that she was not “abused” in the way some women face in Hollywood, she chose to stand up for herself.
“I haven’t been abused in the way some women have. But have I been told by a director to take off my shirt and show my b–bs? Yes, I have. But did I do it? No, I did not.”
She also acknowledged how she was initially “terrified” of jeopardizing her career.
“When I did speak up, I was terrified. I remember my heart beating out of my chest, thinking, ‘What did I do? This man is hiring me!’ It was one of my first movies.”
She continued that she chose to trust herself.
“But in my mind I knew the behavior wasn’t right. It could have gone either way for me. But I think ultimately the Bronx in me was like, ‘Nah, we’re not having it.’ ”
On another occasion, she got candid about experiencing a similar incident when she was on set.
The Shotgun Wedding star during The Hollywood Reporter‘s annual actress roundtable shared her #MeToo experience in the presence of Renée Zellweger, Laura Dern, Lupita Nyong’o, Awkwafina, and Scarlett Johansson.
She discussed a time when a film director asked her to take her top off on a film set.
“A director at a fitting asked me to take my top off… because I was supposed to do n-dity in the movie. He wanted to see my b–bs.”
She continued,
“We’ve stood up and said, ‘Hey, we don’t want this to be going on and it’s been going on a long time and it’s enough.'”
However, she chose to say ‘no’ despite being in a panic at the time.
“But it was so funny because I remember being so panicked in the moment. And by the way, there was a costume designer in the room with me. So there was another woman in the room and he says this, and I said no.”
Thankfully, her ‘little bit of the Bronx’ came out helping her out in overcoming the difficult situation. Though in both encounters, she didn’t reveal the director’s name or the name of the project she was associated with during the costume fitting incident.
Priya Sharma is an entertainment niche content writer at FandomWire. A Journalism and Mass Communication graduate from the University of Lucknow, she has written over 1000 articles on Animated Times and Fandomwire combined and holds experience in event management too. She has a healthy(?) obsession with the Hallyu culture and is also exploring anime as well. When not working, she indulges herself in binge-watching K-dramas, playing Ukulele, and trying to seek the attention of her cute buddy, Shiro.
