Jennifer Lopez was told to lose weight: ‘This is who I am. I’m shaped like this’

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Jennifer Lopez is known for her trademark curves. The former Fly Girl talked about body image and makeup with InStyle magazine for their upcoming June issue. In the interview, Jennifer discussed her recently-launched capsule collection for Inglot and cited the late, great makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin as her muse. She said that because of him, she’s not afraid to try new looks. She added that with cosmetics, ”You can do all kinds of crazy things and then wash it off and start over.” Here are some other highlights from the interview:

On her influence on body image and acceptance:
So many people have come up to me over the years—famous people, people I meet on the street, fans, everybody—and they say that very thing: “Thank you so much. I have the same type of body. I used to think I was fat, but now I feel beautiful.” My generation was very much focused on size 0 models. It was just so unattainable for most normal people, including me. My mom and my grandmother were the ones who drilled into me, “This is how we are, and this is what’s beautiful.” My dad loved my mom’s body—all the men in our family loved the women’s bodies. Being curvy or not being 6 feet tall was never a bad thing; it was actually something that was celebrated. And so, later on, when I brought that in front of the world, I wasn’t really trying to send a message. I was just being myself.

Why she always embraced her curves:
They didn’t bother me at all. But I got a lot of flak for it from people in the industry. They’d say, “You should lose a few pounds,” or “You should do this or do that.” It finally got to the point that I was like, “This is who I am. I’m shaped like this.” Everybody I grew up with looked like that, and they were all beautiful to me. I didn’t see anything wrong with it. I still don’t!

On her fitness regime:
I like to work out in the morning. It loosens me up, gets me ready for the day, and keeps me strong. I’m convinced that working out is part of what makes me so happy. I really believe that when you take care of yourself and work to stay healthy, you’re better able to take care of those you love.

What does she want to teach her daughter Emme?
The one thing I really want to teach her is to love and respect herself first and to make sure she commands respect from others….I try to get her to focus on the things that matter: being a good person, friend, and daughter, being happy with herself, and doing the things she loves.

[From InStyle]

Jennifer’s comments and confidence have made a fan of me, and I’m sure not the only one. At NBC’s upfront on Monday night, World of Dance host Jenna Dewan gushed about her to Entertainment Tonight, confessing that “half the reason I did this show was to find out Jennifer’s secrets and I have not done it yet.” She does have a theory, however. She posited, “I think it’s just natural, which is the most annoying part of it all. She just like kills it. She can still own a stage. Ugh, she’s everything!” And, as for whether or not she will soon be Mrs. Alex Rodriguez, Jenna said, “I’m sure that’s happening.”

Part of Jennifer’s “secret” could be genetics, as evidenced by the sweet selfie she shared with her mother, Guadalupe, on Sunday. The hereditary blessings seem to be moving onto Emme, who resembles her famous mama more and more each day.

♥️

A post shared by Jennifer Lopez (@jlo) on

And, as for Alex, he and Jennifer were seen canoodling at a benefit gala benefiting the NYC anti-poverty campaign, The Robin Hood Foundation, which was held at the Jacob Javitz Center on Monday night. The 48-year-old dazzled on the red carpet in a black gown by Alex Perry, showcasing her toned gams with a insanely high side slit. She also performed at the event in an equally impressive fringed leotard and sparkly thigh-high boots. I think she looks amazing, and I think she’s a great inspiration for girls everywhere.

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NBCUniversal Summer Press Day 2018

Photos: Getty Images, WENN.com, Instagram

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41 Responses to “Jennifer Lopez was told to lose weight: ‘This is who I am. I’m shaped like this’”

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  1. NameChange says:

    No complaints about what she said. I think it’s great. The only thing I would add is that I wish she would wear her hair curly/natural more, as there is still stigma attached to having hair that is not stick straight.

    • Neverwintersand says:

      Yes! I loved her curly hairstyle from a while ago!

      • Sabrine says:

        I’ve always thought she’s about as perfect as you can get. Everything on her is beautiful, including her hands. How can one person be so genetically blessed!

    • MDM says:

      True. I love her curly hair and she wears it like that for Shades of Blue.

    • BlackVoices says:

      I love is when her hair is long and dark.

    • lucy2 says:

      As a person with stick straight hair, I love curly hair and am always jealous…but I think JLo looks better with straighter hair.

  2. Patricia says:

    She’s not aging! Just like my husbands Puerto Rican family: nodody is aging. It’s crazy hahha. Genetically blessed for sure.

  3. Harrierjet says:

    Do you remember when her butt was more famous than Kim Kardashians? I remember…

    • NameChange says:

      And hers was natural…

    • Iknowwhatboyslike says:

      And at least hers is natural.

    • Sid says:

      Yes. I remember it very well. She really was the first one make the curvy butt and hips popular again in the mainstream, despite all the Black actresses and musicians who were already rocking those assets at the time and never got the same love for it. I still remember the way Joan Rivers of all people was just going on and on about Jennifer’s “gloriously feminine figure” during one of her red carpet review episodes back in the 90s. That’s when I knew a change was on the horizon.

      • JG says:

        But who were the black actresses and musicians who “rocked” those assets in the early and mid 1990s? Probably the biggest black female star was Whitney Houston, who was as lean and long as her white counterparts. It was a difficult time to come of age, body image wise. Love Jennifer.

      • NameChange says:

        @JG – Mia, Ashanti, to name just two. But any black woman, really.

      • JeanGray says:

        @Namechange. JLo was out before both of them she had already starred in Selena and Money train in the mid 90’s. If you mean Mya, she was still very skinny when she first came out. Ashanti didn’t come out until the early aughts. And neither were A list in Hollywood. The only one who we can really say was a mainstream A lister was Janet who used to be thick and had a bubble, but she succumbed to the Hollywood ideal by hiding her butt instead of flaunting it and lost a lot of weight.

      • Tanya says:

        @JG, got it. You don’t know too many black folks.

    • RedOnTheHead says:

      I remember when Jennifer’s ass was the only one that was famous and no one had ever heard of a Kartrashian. And I remember people talking about how big her “booty” was. And I have to laugh now because once we got overexposed to the Kartrashian Ass of Horror, we realize how perfectly normal JLos ass is. And how great it looks on her.

      • KiddV says:

        Wasn’t it Cindy Crawford who said if she had J-Lo’s butt she’d shoot herself? I wonder what she thinks of the Kardashian butts.

  4. Beth says:

    I agree with everything she said. Her body is fine and she’s beautiful, no changes needed.

    Her mother is also beautiful, but those eyebrows are a little weird

    • NameChange says:

      Now I can’t unsee the eyebrows :-(. Tatooed?

    • OriginalLala says:

      all of those selfies have weird filters going on to exaggerate the eyes/ eye area, so who knows what her eyebrows actually look like without the heavy filters

      • smcollins says:

        @originallala weird filters indeed! JLo looks like a cartoon character, which is so unnecessary considering how naturally beautiful she is.

      • Tessy says:

        Is that what it is? Because the photos look nothing like her. She’s so fearless about embracing her body, yet buys into all the facial modifications that come with natural aging and “celebrity”.

    • I rarely comment but... says:

      Most likely tattooed. My mom has them tattooed the same way and I haaaate it. Lol. But it was all the rage a few years back in the latin community.

    • lucy2 says:

      My eye went right to them! 🙁
      That’s a lot of make up on both just to hang out on Mother’s Day. And both are beautiful women who don’t need that much!

  5. Iknowwhatboyslike says:

    J.Lo and A.Rod makes so much sense to me on a superficial level. But J.Lo seems like a smart woman. I wonder what the conversations are like between them.

    • imqrious2 says:

      He was on Shark Tank, as a guest investor. I was actually quite impressed with him. He sounded very sincere and intelligent. (I know he was a douche-bro…but maybe he’s matured? Maybe she’s brought out the best part of him?).

  6. INeedANap says:

    I am a curvy woman, though shaped a little more like Kylie Jenner. Growing up and seeing JLo confident in her body was a big deal for me. I’m in New England so plenty of people see me as lumpy and dumpy but her coming onto the scene made bodies like mine more acceptable.

    • Beth says:

      What does being in New England have to do with how people would see your body shape as? People are judgemental about body shapes and sizes everywhere, not just New England

      • JG says:

        I think she means New England is ground zero for old line waspy types. Possibly moreso than other regions.

      • INeedANap says:

        @Beth

        I probably should have elaborated, but it’s basically what @JG says. New England has a wide variety of people but the most popular aesthetic is of the tall, willowy woman. Not that that is bad, it’s just different from my body type. I’ve been all over the world and notice I “do better” in other places. It’s not an accident, I think, that while living here I’ve only ever dated men who are transplants like me.

      • Beth says:

        I’m a New Englander from Massachusetts and now live in Florida, and people down here are a million times more judgemental and rude when it comes to bodies

    • barrett says:

      Kylie Jenner plastic surgery is shaped to be like the natural born YOU! Kylie is fake, her body was naturally meant to be more straight like Kendall!

  7. JeanGray says:

    The tall, stick thin look never attracted me. And unfortunately for me at 5’8″ and taller than most of the women I knew and being a skinny twerp most of junior high and high school, I went through body issues and being made fun of. As a mixed race Latina, we celebrate curves and thickness. So I felt very awkward growing up. I’d have people try to make me feel better telling me I was lucky cuz I looked like a model and I remember being all “ugh, I don’t think models have nice bodies. And I hate being tall!!”.Though I was always happy about having a big butt and hips in proportion to the rest of my body. “She got a big butt for a skinny chick” is what I’d always hear. Well once I had a kid in my 20’s. I thickened up a little bit. And I was happy with my figure. I’m in my early 40’s now and although I could use some toning, I’m pretty happy with my overall figure, curves and thickness, and realized that all body types can be beautiful as long as they are well proportioned and healthy.

  8. Christina says:

    The daughter looks like her father.

    • JA says:

      Both of the kids look identical to Mark! I don’t see Jennifer in either of them

  9. Mumbles says:

    The idea of anyone calling this woman out for being chubby is outrageous.
    I hope as women speak out more about being abused and objectified by men in power, this stuff gets called out next. The idea of men (and some women) telling women how they should look is patriarchal and controlling.

  10. Mihaela says:

    “MRS Alex Rodriguez”???????? It’s not even a quote.
    Get a grip, it’s the 21st century.
    Pathetic for whomever wrote that.

  11. Jana says:

    That picture of Jennifer and her mother looks hecka airbrushed to me. Granted, they are both very beautiful women. But it has the effect of the old-Hollywood fuzzy focus. J-Lo’s unretouched pictures look better.

  12. littlemissnaughty says:

    I’m sure genetics are good to her but over the years many people who have worked with her have mentioned how crazy hard she works and works out. Her looks aren’t an accident or just luck. That, to me, makes her even more awesome.

  13. mikaela says:

    I’m still cool on her for thinking that she could use the “n” word in her music. She never apologized for it that I know of. Not a fan.

    https://genius.com/a/remembering-jennifer-lopez-s-n-word-controversy-15-years-later

  14. tw says:

    I love when she says that everyone she grew up with looked this way. It’s so relatable and true. It’s time we value everyone around us and see the beauty in everyone, rather than pick each other apart. The unrealistic beauty ideal is only there to make us consume more.