J.Lo takes swipes at Cameron Diaz, Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow in resurfaced interview
The J.Loaissance is upon us and with the good, comes the shady. An interview Jennifer Lopez did 21 years ago is making the rounds — and she had a lot to say about some of her peers.
Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna and Cameron Diaz were not spared in a resurfaced Movieline interview Lopez did in 1998. Lopez, fresh off the success of Selena and Anaconda at the time, was explaining how she felt she edged up to what she called "the bottom of the A-list of actresses." The interviewer asked how she viewed some of her competition. Here's Lopez’s rundown:
Salma Hayek: "We're in two different realms. She's a sexy bombshell and those are the kinds of roles she does. I do all kinds of different things. It makes me laugh when she says she got offered Selena, which was an outright lie. If that's what she does to get herself publicity, then that's her thing. Columbia offered me the choice of Fools Rush In or Anaconda, but I chose the fun B-movie because the Fools script wasn't strong enough."
Cameron Diaz: "A lucky model who's been given a lot of opportunities I just wish she would have done more with. She's beautiful and has a great presence, though, and in My Best Friend's Wedding, I thought, 'When directed, she can be good.'"
Gwyneth Paltrow: "Tell me what she's been in? I swear to God, I don't remember anything she was in. Some people get hot by association. I heard more about her and Brad Pitt than I ever heard about her work."
Claire Danes: "A good actress. Her emotional and inner life are available to her, which is a good start. But I feel like I see a lot of the same thing with every character she does. She's not that way in U-Turn, though."
Winona Ryder: "I was never a big fan of hers. In Hollywood she's revered, she gets nominated for Oscars, but I've never heard anyone in the public or among my friends say, 'Oh, I love her.' She's cute and talented, though, and I'd like her just for looking like my older sister, Leslie."
Madonna: "Do I think she's a great performer? Yeah. Do I think she's a great actress? No. Acting is what I do, so I'm harder on people when they say, 'Oh, I can do that — I can act.' I'm like, 'Hey, don't spit on my craft.'"
Lopez is completely unfiltered throughout the interview. (A rep for the actress didn’t respond to Yahoo Entertainment’s request for comment.) While the superstar is much more PC these days, her work ethic stands out even two decades ago.
"I have this attitude — and it won't change no matter how big I get — that you have to fight for things you want," she said, explaining how she won the role opposite George Clooney in Out of Sight. "You can't expect things to be handed to you on a platter, even if you can fill theaters week in and week out. Because there's always somebody like me ready to kick down the door and steal the job right out from under you."
The singer and actress said she asked for $5 million for the role (which was considered "outrageous" at the time) and ended up getting $2 million.
"I want to make as much or more than Demi Moore when it's my time," she declared. "I think George Clooney's getting $10 million for this movie. [Universal] thought they were going to get me cheap from the beginning, but I kept telling my agent, 'No, no, no! Keep asking!' When my agent called me saying, 'What should we say to them?' I said, 'Say, Who's going to break their ass to promote this movie while George is on ER? Say, Anaconda is now over $100 million worldwide and why do you think girls between 18 and 25 went to see it more than any other action movies — because of Ice Cube?' The head of Universal called my manager, saying, 'You guys are not looking at the long run.' You know, whatever excuse they can give to keep another dollar in their pocket. I don't take it personally, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to fight for what I feel. We are looking at the long run, they're not. Eventually, they're going to pay. People don't believe it yet, but right now I'm very underpaid."
How times have changed.
Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:
Army warns soldiers about copycat shootings at 'Joker' screenings
Hospitalized Kylie Jenner 'heartbroken' to miss Kylie Cosmetics launch at Paris Fashion Week
Aaron Carter gives up guns, Xanax after restraining order: 'I've done all I can do'
Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Entertainment & Lifestyle’s newsletter.
