There’s a few things one could say Jennifer Lopez is full of. Full of beauty, full of talent, and possibly even full of herself during the early days of her Hollywood career.
Excerpts from an old 1998 interview she did with movieline has resurfaced and it reflects a much younger, confident and loose lipped J. Lo that didn’t hold back when asked about her fellow actress competitors at the time.
During the interview, when asked why she was landing so many good movie roles at the time, the “Selena” star confidently replied,
“Because I’m the best. I feel I can do anything — any kind of role. I’m fearless. I work really hard. I’ll just get better as I go along because I’m open to getting better. If you have the goods, there’s nothing to be afraid of. If somebody doesn’t have the goods, they’re insecure. I don’t have that problem. I’m not the best actress that ever lived, but I know I’m pretty good.”
But once asked about some actresses who she was in contention with for roles at the time, J. Lo threw the whole damn tree.
On Salma Hayek:
“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.”
On Cameron Diaz:
“A lucky model who’s been given a lot of opportunities I just wish she would have done more with. She’s beautiful and has a great presence, though, and in My Best Friend’s Wedding, I thought, ‘When directed, she can be good.’”
On Gwyneth Paltrow:
“Tell me what she’s been in? I swear to God, I don’t remember anything she was in. Some people get hot by association. I heard more about her and Brad Pitt than I ever heard about her work.”
On Winona Ryder:
“I was never a big fan of hers. In Hollywood she’s revered, she gets nominated for Oscars, but I’ve never heard anyone in the public or among my friends say, ‘Oh, I love her.’ She’s cute and talented, though, and I’d like her just for looking like my older sister, Leslie.”
On Madonna:
“Do I think she’s a great performer? Yeah. Do I think she’s a great actress? No. Acting is what I do, so I’m harder on people when they say, ‘Oh, I can do that, I can act.’ I’m like, ‘Hey, don’t spit on my craft.’”
When asked about Wesley Snipes hitting on her during the filming of Money Train, J.Lo revealed how hard Snipes came on to her and caught an attitude when she turned him down.
“Wesley, even though I had a boyfriend at the time, went full court press. He was flirting with me, you always flirt with your co-stars, it’s harmless, then he just started getting a little more serious.
“He would invite us all out together and then at the end of the night, he’d drop me off last and try to kiss me. I’d be like, ‘Wesley, please, I’m not interested in you like that.’
“He got really upset about it. His ego was totally bruised. He wouldn’t talk to me for two months. I was like, ‘What an a**hole.’
“Actors are used to getting their way and to treating women like objects. They’re so used to hearing the word ‘Yes.’”
At the time J. Lo was married to entrepreneur Ojani Noa. They divorced shortly after the interview and we can see why. When asked about her husband she spoke on being the breadwinner of the relationship.
“It’s tough for me because the men I’m attracted to, for some reason, haven’t gotten it together. Even my husband, I feel, has a lot of potential but he’s not at the point where … I mean, even though he has lots of contacts, even though he’s doing his own thing, opening a club and restaurant here, whatever business he gets in, he’s not gonna make as much money as me. That’s something he has to deal with and to live with, which is tough for someone like him.”
Well, if there’s one thing you can learn from Jenny From The Block is she had her heart and mind set on super stardom and she stayed focused on her goal. Can’t hate on that. But, we do wonder how Selma, Cameron, Madonna and Gwyneth felt at the time this interview came out.
