Photo: Kathy Hutchins, Ovidiu Hrubaru / Shutterstock, Emmufty via Canva Pro
She's "just Jenny from the block," huh? Don't be so sure.
By John Sundholm — Written on Dec 31, 2022
By any standard, Jennifer Lopez lives a charmed life.
J.Lo's got a reported net worth of $400 million, a fairy tale marriage to Ben Affleck, and two beautiful kids, 14-year-old twins Emme Maribel and Maximilian David Muniz, who she shares with ex-husband Marc Anthony.
We haven't even gotten to talking about the hit songs and blockbuster movies she's procured.
However, despite her longest-running #1 hit being a song called "I'm Real," 53-year-old Lopez is by all accounts a nightmare to work with — and we're not just talking about the usual A-list celebrity demands.
Here are 6 rules J.Lo has for her staff.
1. Jennifer Lopez forbids staff from speaking to her or making eye contact.
If there's any rumor for which Jennifer Lopez has become notorious, it's this one.
The rumors first reached a fever pitch in 2012 when Lopez was building a new palatial home in the Los Angeles suburb of San Fernando.
A source told The Daily Star, via Huffington Post, that she had set a clear boundary for the people working on the property.
Lopez emphasized that while toiling away on her mansion, "if any of the contractors, drivers or domestic help make eye contact or speak to her she will not be impressed" — despite the fact they would be on the premises for an entire year.
Harsh.
Speaking of speaking to J.Lo...
2. Lopez will get you fired if you ask for an autograph.
Lopez once played a struggling hotel maid swept off her feet by an internationally famous millionaire in the movie "Maid in Manhattan," but if you thought it maid — er, made — her empathetic towards them, think again.
According to German Newspaper Bild, via Radar Online, when hotel maid and J.Lo superfan Pray Dodaj waited on Lopez during a 2012 tour stop in Germany, she couldn't help but ask the star for an autograph — and it cost her job.
Dodaj was fired the next day after Lopez reportedly complained to the management about the request.
3. Lopez refuses to work with Virgos.
Heather Morris got her big break on Ryan Murphy's Fox series "Glee," but before that, she was just a humble dancer going on auditions — and she had quite a run-in with J.Lo.
In an August podcast appearance, Morris relayed her experiences during a day of auditioning for one of Lopez's tours in which all Virgos were fired.
Morris claimed that after eight hours of hoofing for a spot on the tour, Lopez asked all dancers to raise their hands if they were Virgos, and then sent them all home.
What does J.Lo have against Virgos?
Who knows, but there's one Virgo that Lopez, a Leo, definitely didn't jive with — her ex-husband Marc Anthony, who was born September 16.
4. Jennifer Lopez makes insane demands about being surrounded by the color white.
After Lopez's various tour and hotel riders have gone viral several times — for all the wrong reasons, of course — revealing just how obsessed with the color white she is.
The leaked documents reveal that Lopez's spaces must be painted entirely white, with white, linens, drapes, furniture, and even candles — as long as they're Jo Malone's Grapefruit or Lime blossom scents.
The flowers she insists on must be white too — though she will allow "red trim" on certain kinds of roses.
How lenient.
In case there was any confusion about how serious Lopez is about her white rules? She gave birth in a white fur coat, so don't try her.
5. Lopez makes her personal assistants speak to service staff and flight attendants for her.
It's not just construction crews Lopez won't allow to speak to her.
Lopez went viral years ago for allegedly refusing to speak to a United Airlines flight attendant who asked her drink order.
Instead, Lopez turned to her personal assistant and said, "Please tell him I'd like a Diet Coke and lime."
Seems like maybe "just Jenny from the block," was a catchy pop hook and nothing more.
6. Lopez has a history of not paying her staff.
Lopez has been sued by a litany of people who've worked with and for her — including a chauffeur who claimed she refused to pay him the amount they agreed on.
They settled out of court.
But even her high-profile agents and managers have struggled to meet her exacting standards.
Lopez's manager Benny Medina has long been one of the most powerful men in Hollywood and made her a household name in the 90s and 2000s.
But when he accused her of not properly paying him, she promptly accused him of lying and mishandling her money, dragging him into court and then firing him.
The drama led to Lopez parting ways with her agent at Hollywood mega-agency William Morris Endeavor, too — though who fired who depends on which party you're asking.
In the case of Medina, at least, Lopez has since patched things up — he's been her manager again since 2008 and is even the godfather to her children.
All in a day's work for one of the biggest stars in the world, it seems.
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.