GQ is putting a spotlight on Jennifer Lopez for its new 'Men of the Year' issue.
The magazine has named the 'Hustlers' star its 'Icon of the Year' for 2019, and in the issue, the 50-year-old talks about her upcoming Super Bowl Halftime Show performance and the controversy surrounding the NFL.
“I understand people not wanting to do it,” Lopez says. “Everybody has to make their own choices. They have to feel good about what they’re doing.
“I feel like it’s an amazing platform and one of the biggest in the world to put out whatever message you want to put out there. Whatever message of love or—I don’t want to give anything away—I think it’s taking a chance to do it. I feel that it’s a great thing to have two Latina women in Miami headlining the Super Bowl, and what we could do with those 12 to 14 minutes to make people understand our worth and value in this country… I think it could be a really beautiful celebration.”
A number of stars, including Rihanna, have reportedly turned down the halftime show in support of Colin Kaepernick’s protest for criminal justice reform.
Lopez also talks about being a middle-aged woman in Hollywood and Latina.
“Women in general, and especially artists, get so much better as they grow and mature. You can see it!” she says. “Meryl Streep’s career took off after she was 40. Tina Turner after she was 40. Cher…As they got older they blossomed in a way they hadn’t before, right? They came into their own power…There’s no reason to ever be ashamed of where you’re at. Not when you’re doing your best. Don’t call it a comeback, I’ve been here for years!”
Speaking about the word she hates hearing, Lopez says, “I’m incredibly impatient. I want everything now. It’s hard for me to tolerate a slow pace. I get annoyed with it. I don’t like the word ‘no.’ Like really bad. Really bad.”
Because I was Latin, and I was a woman, and I was Puerto Rican, and they were not giving me the same pass that they gave everybody else. Just, be resilient. They'll give up.
