There is no denying that has shared her pride at her Bronx upbringing over the years, and has referenced life in countless times throughout her career.
From naming her debut album On The 6, referencing the 6 subway line, to her iconic 2002 track, Jenny From The Block, which pays tribute to her roots, – but now people from that very block have some questions for Jenny.
A clip from the 54-year-old’s , has gone viral and left viewers severely confused as the Love Don’t Cost A Thing singer reflected on ‘running up and down the block’ with her hair out as a teenager.
‘I like taking my hair out like this – it reminds me like when I was 16 in the Bronx, running up and down the block,’ she told the camera.
‘That crazy little girl who used to f**king be wild, no limits, all dreams.’
Many on TikTok begged her to ‘stop using them to look relatable and human’, while others urged her to ‘drop’ the story as it’s not ‘really working’ for her anymore.
So, we’ve taken a walk down memory lane to share some of her best quotes about growing up in the borough.
Jennifer was born in the Bronx and raised in the Castle Hill area, sharing a home on Blackrock Avenue with two sisters, her computer technician dad and her mom, who worked as a Tupperware lady, as well as holding down a job at a school.
Even from an early age, she rubbed shoulders with others who would go on to also become superstars – as while growing up.
She chose to move out when she reached the age of 18, in a bid to jumpstart her career in Manhattan.
Unpacking her decision to leave home, she revealed that it caused friction with her mom, telling W Magazine in 2013: ‘My mom and I butted heads. I didn’t want to go to college – I wanted to try dance full-time. I was homeless.
‘But I told her, “This is what I have to do.”’
‘I love Los Angeles, but it doesn’t give me strength the way the Bronx did,’ she said. ‘All the strength that I needed for life, I got from that neighborhood.’
Discussing her childhood with WSJ Magazine in 2020, she explained that the neighborhood helped to mold the person she has become.
‘Growing up in the Bronx really did shape me, because I grew up with not a lot,’ she shared.
‘Everything about me; my kind of grit. I never thought about it or described it this way before but it is the heartbeat inside of me that is the Bronx and my upbringing that continues to drive me.’
‘It‘s taken me a while to get to the point where I even realize it’s not always about talent, it’s not always about education, it’s about persistence and hard work. And if you are dedicated to that, whatever dream, however big it is, you can accomplish it.’
Jen has constantly raved about how much her upbringing still impacts her daily, decades later.
Speaking in TNT’s Neighborhood Sessions with Jennifer Lopez special in 2015, she enthused: ‘To this day my taste, my preferences, my outlook, my attitude, everything about me is so influenced by the fact I grew up in the Bronx.
‘Yeah, I’ve gone out into the world and I’ve done all these things but it’s because of the stability and the footing that I got from my family and the Bronx that made me be able to go out and handle all this craziness.’
However, while she is undoubtedly one of the biggest names in music, and has won acclaim for her work in film, she has had some awkward encounters when returning to her roots.
Who could forget the moment she was filmed popping up at Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, while filming American Idol in 2014 – before making a beeline for her old home.
In footage we will quite simply never forget, Jen proudly strolled up to the property while the current owner was outside, and informed him: ‘I used to live here.’
Clearly baffled by the superstar and her accompanying camera crew, he asked for her name.
‘My name is Jennifer,’ she replied with a smile. ‘My room was upstairs right there.’
‘Jennifer who?’ he questioned, as she awkwardly replied: ‘Jennifer Lopez…’
When he questioned who Jennifer Lopez was, she tried to clarify the situation once again, before quickly moving the tour on.
However, Jennifer’s recent comments where she reminisced about ‘running down the block’ as a ‘crazy little girl’ didn’t go down well with fans on social media who live in the same areas.
In one scathing video by TikTok user PhotosByAngela, she claimed that she went to the same high school as the Hustlers star, alleging: ‘I saw your high school photo, you did not have hair like that. We also both attended an all-girls Catholic high school, in an Irish and Italian neighborhood, so you weren’t running up and down the block.
‘Why are you lying? Please stop using us to look human. We are sick of you. You don’t do s**t for us, keep our names out of your mouth. We’re not running up and down the block, not all of us do that for kicks. You’re stupid.
‘Stop using us to look human, stop using us to look relatable. We don’t like you.’
CillaMinian followed suit with a video of her own, fuming: ‘Real Bronxite here, straight from the south Bronx. Lived there all of my life, raised in the Bronx – one of the worst parts of the Bronx, actually.
‘J Lo, we didn’t run up and down the block looking like that, even as a kid. Also, what block were you running up and down on? Do you have any footage of this, do you have any pictures of you in the Bronx, being a normal child in the Bronx?
‘I understand you’re trying to milk this whole, “I’m humble, I’m from the hood”. This story doesn’t really work for you anymore, it just doesn’t.
‘I used to be a huge J Lo fan and I still pretty much like her, but this whole story of her trying to seem more relatable and more normal, it’s not really going to work for you. Just stop. It’s cool if you’re rich, it’s cool.’
Others found the discourse surrounding Jennifer’s latest clip hilarious, as HogwartsDropOut penned on TikTok: ‘At this point the Bronx is a victim of JLo.’
LV agreed: ‘This block needs royalties for as much as it’s talked about.’
Kerensa said: ‘I can’t explain it, but every time j. lo pops up and she’s talking about the bronx, she gives me michael scott vibes [sic].’
Others rushed to Jen’s defense, with October444 asking CillaMinian: ‘But were you in the Bronx in 70s and 80s . I don’t like Jlo but she’s 54 she’s from another time.’
Alessandro Pianta said: ‘Her first album name is “on the 6” I don’t understand why people don’t accept hers origins. She’s proud of and it’s good [sic].’
If you need us, we’ll be listening to Jenny From The Block on repeat.
Metro.co.uk has contacted Jennifer’s reps for a comment.
