Baby Jennifer Lopez is facing yet another PR disaster, and the situation continues to escalate for her. Just days ago, she had to cancel tour dates due to poor ticket sales. Additionally, she’s embroiled in a legal case from 1999 involving Diddy, where she allegedly misled the Grand Jury. Her recent projects aren’t performing well either. On top of that, there’s the Bronx orange drink controversy, the incident of spitting chewing gum into her assistant’s hand in public, and allegations of mistreatment towards her staff, especially Black employees. It seems like Miss Lopez is enduring a string of challenges. But does she deserve this relentless stream of setbacks? Recently, a dancer shared his experience of being one of only three Black dancers during JLo’s Motown tribute at the 2019 Grammys. The choice of just three Black dancers for a Motown tribute raises eyebrows, but there’s more to the story.
The dancer observed throughout the choreography that the three Black dancers were consistently placed away from the center, where most of the action occurred. He recalled, “I noticed that even in our formations, we Black dancers were positioned on the periphery. It felt deliberate, as if we were being pushed away from the center, where she [the lead performer] was. I distinctly remember this moment.” People were already questioning why a Black artist wasn’t chosen, and for JLo to mistreat the sole Black representation in the tribute was disrespectful. To add insult to injury, at that time, the dancer had braided hair, and JLo remarked, “So what are you going to do with the hair?” Really? After already relegating the only Black performers to the sidelines in a Motown tribute, she was concerned about his hairstyle? The issue with JLo is her consistent comfort with drawing inspiration from Black culture, riding on its success, and appropriating elements of it, yet she shows disregard for the community. There’s a history of mistreatment, not only towards Black individuals but also towards others who have worked with her. It’s not coincidental that many former collaborators share similar stories of mistreatment under JLo’s management. For instance, her makeup artist Scott Barnes was unfairly blacklisted from the industry after her secret wedding with Mark Anthony was leaked, even though he was innocent. “It was like nobody would talk to me. It was like I had the plague.”
Another incident involving Hcob Manukan occurred after JLo promoted him to her personal head of security and transportation. However, in the same year of his promotion, he found himself embroiled in a legal battle with JLo’s team. Hcob had begun driving for JLo and Mark Anthony back in 2005, and over time, they grew to value him so much that they convinced him to close down his own company and work exclusively as JLo’s personal head of security and transportation. Hcob claimed that JLo had promised him an annual base salary of $72,000 with additional production pay that would have brought his actual salary up to $200,000. Unfortunately, JLo not only failed to fulfill her promises in terms of payment, but Hcob was also subjected to verbal abuse.
Moreover, it’s not just about JLo mistreating her employees; she also permitted her boyfriends to mistreat them. For example, a former employee of JLo who was around during her relationship with Diddy claimed that he treated her entire team as if they were his employees, making the women uncomfortable. Allegedly, Diddy assumed a default boss role, demanding they fetch anything he desired, which became increasingly bothersome for them. According to the ex-employee, Diddy categorized the staff based on their perceived attractiveness, treating them disrespectfully if they didn’t meet his standards, essentially expecting them to serve him like waitresses in a creepy manner.
Discussing JLo’s tolerance of her boyfriends mistreating her employees further, a former employee named Jean Tinali Jilly stated that her departure was largely due to JLo’s then-boyfriend, Casper Smart, who reportedly behaved poorly towards her without any intervention from JLo.
In addition to these issues, there was also the controversy involving Benny Medina, who accused JLo of deceit and exploitation before terminating his employment.
In 1999, Benny began managing JLo’s career and resumed this role in 2008 following a brief separation. However, in 2003, JLo terminated Benny and accused him of violating California’s Talent Agency Act. She sought full restitution from Medina and his agency, along with 10% interest, in her complaint. Shortly after JLo filed her lawsuit, Benny issued a statement denying the accusation of misappropriating money from Jennifer Lopez, calling the allegations untrue and offensive. He suggested that JLo was attempting to vilify him, claiming she has a history of using and discarding people after exploiting them for personal gain. Benny vowed to defend himself against the accusations and recover every owed dollar. Surprisingly, individuals unrelated to JLo’s staff also experienced job loss due to interactions with her. For example, one fan cleaning JLo’s hotel room during her 2012 World Tour in Germany, tried to ask for an autograph, only to be stopped by two assistants. Shortly after, the fan lost her job, suspecting JLo’s complaint to be the reason.
I was fired over the phone because of an autograph. It’s gotten to the point where I’m even starting to believe stories like the one about JLo refusing to work with Virgos. I’m not sure why, but apparently she avoids collaborating with them. If you happen to be a Black Virgo, well, tough luck. And let’s not even get into the other rumors, like how she supposedly instructed someone not to tip a driver for no reason or how she allegedly takes tips back from waiters.
Another thing that’s kept JLo in the headlines is Natasha D speaking out about being underpaid for contributing her vocals to JLo’s album. “Honey, this story about JLo using other people’s voices, especially Black artists’, on her songs has been around for a while. But now Natasha has shed more light on what specifically happened to her.” In one of her videos, Natasha introduced herself as the voice behind JLo’s 2002 single “Jenny From the Block.” She recalled being introduced to JLo in the early 2000s at the Hit Factory where she was recording, and they were friendly while discussing the song. “So I recorded it, you know. They pitched it to her. She loved it, especially the background vocals. They said they wanted to keep me on and have me sing background on more songs from the album. Excuse me.” So she did, but she was led to believe she would only be a background singer, which was true for the four other songs she worked on, until “Jenny From the Block” was released, featuring mostly Natasha’s vocals. “I think the issue with ‘Jenny From the Block’ is that they cut my laughter, turned down her vocals, and kept my ad libs. The ‘From the Bronx’ part is me, you know.” Natasha also mentioned that while she was credited in the album notes and JLo’s thank-yous, she wished she had been better compensated financially. “I definitely felt taken advantage of.”
“So, what’s the plan now? We’re focusing on JLo’s mistreatment of her staff. Natasha doesn’t blame JLo directly for her treatment, but she did expose JLo’s producer for inappropriate behavior. Natasha wasn’t present during negotiations, but she alleged that Corey Rooney, the producer, demanded a kiss. When she refused, he threatened to remove her from records. Natasha gave him a peck, but he wanted more. She left the studio swiftly. I was also considering how to expose Corey myself. Regarding JLo, she may not have discussed finances with Natasha, but she was present during negotiations, fully aware of what was happening. Doesn’t this make her complicit? Right now, I wouldn’t want to be in JLo’s shoes, as the internet is relentless. Do you think it’s karma for her past actions? Does she deserve the backlash? Share your thoughts in the comments.”
