Jennifer Lopez said she tries not to pay attention to the hate she receives on social media amid her divorce from Ben Affleck, but sometimes it gets the best of her.
“I know that everything that’s being written and said about me, and all the conjecture of who I am as a person, is not who I am,” Jennifer Lopez told comedian Nikki Glaser during a chat for Interview magazine published Wednesday.
“I learned that a long time ago,” she continued.
Jennifer Lopez, 55, pointed out that platforms such as Instagram and X did not exist until she was already famous, so she does not put too much weight into what online trolls say.
“Social media, because it came along after I had been in the public eye for a while, I don’t take it as seriously as everybody else,” she said.
The “I’m Real” singer explained that she is able to tune out the noise because she knows herself better than the public.
“I know I’m a good person. I know I’m a good mom. I know who my friends are. I know my friends know who I am, my mom, my dad, all that stuff,” she said. “If you hope to have a long career, you have to learn how to deal with that part of the business.”
Jennifer Lopez shrugged off her critics, chalking it up to being a part of show business.
“Some people are going to love you and some are not going to understand you, and some people just want to hate you to hate you, and none of that really matters,” she said. “What matters for me, as an artist, is doing work that inspires me and that I enjoy doing, whether it’s a huge commercial success or something that only touches one person that nobody ever f–king even sees. It doesn’t matter.”
The “Wedding Planner” star declared that she is living her “life’s passion” by singing, dancing, acting, entertaining and creating for a living.
However, she did admit that every now and then, her thick skin cannot protect her from certain nasty messages.
“Please don’t get me wrong, if I see something that’s hurtful, I’m not Teflon,” she said.
Lopez has faced heat on social media and in the press over her relationship woes with Affleck, whom she first dated in the early 2000s.
The now-estranged couple reconciled their romance in early 2021 and tied the knot in July 2022, but the “Monster-in-Law” star filed for divorce in August.
Lopez, who has been married four times, addressed being single again during her interview with Glaser, telling the stand-up comic that she is “excited” to be by herself.
“Everything that I’ve done over the past 25, 30 years, being in these different challenging situations, what can I f–king do when it’s just me flying on my own … what if I’m just free?” she asked.
The “Let’s Get Loud” singer proclaimed that being in a relationship “doesn’t define” her.
“I can’t be looking for happiness in other people. I have to have happiness within myself,” she said.
Jennifer Lopez assured herself that heartbreak is not a be-all-end-all and she will get through the tough times.
“When you sit in those feelings and go, ‘These things are not going to kill me,’ it’s like, ‘Actually, I am capable of joy and happiness all by myself,’” she said.