London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Aug 02, 2026

Jennifer Lopez says it was 'the worst idea in the world' for her to share the 2020 Super Bowl halftime show with Shakira

Jennifer Lopez says it was 'the worst idea in the world' for her to share the 2020 Super Bowl halftime show with Shakira

"It was an insult to say you needed two Latinas to do the job that one artist historically has done," Jennifer Lopez's manager said in "Halftime."

Jennifer Lopez apparently didn't hold back her feelings about sharing the 2020 Super Bowl halftime stage with her fellow Latina pop star Shakira.

In a scene in her new Netflix documentary, "Halftime," in which she was planning her half of the performance with her music director Kim Burse, Lopez said it was "the worst idea in the world" to have two people share the headlining spot of the halftime show, as reported by Entertainment Weekly. The film premiered at the Tribeca Festival on Wednesday night.

"We have six fucking minutes," Lopez said in the film, according to Entertainment Weekly, noting that it gave her little time to sing a good portion of any one song. "We have to have our singing moments," she said. "It's not going to be a dance fucking revue. We have to sing our message."

"This is the worst idea in the world to have two people do the Super Bowl," the "Love Don't Cost a Thing" singer continued. "It was the worst idea in the world."

Shakira and Lopez at a press conference on January 30, 2020, ahead of their Super Bowl performance.


In another scene in the film, Lopez's longtime manager Benny Medina was said to have supported his client's feelings.

"Typically, you have one headliner at a Super Bowl," Medina said, per Entertainment Weekly. "That headliner constructs a show, and, should they choose to have other guests, that's their choice. It was an insult to say you needed two Latinas to do the job that one artist historically has done."

Entertainment Weekly noted that when performers like Madonna and Lady Gaga headlined the Super Bowl in 2012 and 2017 respectively, they were each given over 13 minutes to perform solo.

Shakira and Lopez during the halftime show.


In early scenes of "Halftime," Lopez and Shakira are shown in the early stages of planning their performance. Lopez reportedly told Shakira that unnamed NFL sources told her they'd have about 12 minutes combined to perform but would probably get a minute or two more than that.

The 2020 Super Bowl halftime show ran for about 14 minutes, giving Lopez and Shakira about seven minutes each to perform a selection of their biggest hits.

"If it was going to be a double headliner, they should have given us 20 minutes," Lopez told Shakira.

Representatives for the NFL didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

Some viewers were unhappy about the 2020 halftime show for a different reason
Lopez accepting the MTV Generation Award at the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards.


As reported by CNN, there was controversy in the aftermath of the performance, too. According to the network, the Federal Communications Commission received 1,312 complaints after the performance, with many people saying the show was inappropriate for children.

Some of the complaints noted that Lopez was dressed "scantily," and some viewers took issue with the fact the "Jenny From the Block" singer danced on a pole during her portion of the show, CNN reported.

Lopez, who played a stripper in the 2019 film "Hustlers," has previously described facing struggles throughout her career as an actor, dancer, and pop star.

"I think I'm an underdog," she told Rolling Stone in an interview published in February. "I always feel like I was scrapping from the bottom. Always.

"I always felt like I wasn't the one that was supposed to be in the room," the mother of two continued.

The Netflix documentary "Halftime" follows Lopez's career.


Lopez was honored with a Generation Award at the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards on Sunday. During her speech, she acknowledged the people she said had made her road to success more difficult.

"Since you cannot create truth unless you've really lived it, I have a different kind of list of 'thank-yous' tonight," Lopez said. "I want to thank all the people who gave me this life. I want to thank the people who gave me joy and the ones who broke my heart, the ones who were true, and the ones who lied to me. I want to thank true love, and I want to thank the way that I lied to myself because that's how I knew that I had to grow."

"I want to thank disappointment and failure," she continued, "for teaching me to be strong and my children for teaching me to love."

"Halftime" is set to be available for streaming on Netflix on June 14.

Disclosure: Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Finland Deploys Commercial-Scale Thermal Batteries Using Crushed Rock to Store Renewable Grid Energy
Valued at $109 Million: F-35B Fighter Jet Crashes in Southern California
Sainsbury Agrees to Sell Argos in £120 Million Deal to Private Consortium
High Court Clears Way for Construction of Chinese Embassy at Royal Mint Court
UK Fuel Prices Climb to Multi-Month Highs as Strait of Hormuz Tensions Disrupt Oil Supplies
Severe Summer Drought and Record Heat Put UK Harvests at Risk
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Faces Labour Backbench Opposition Over Potential Support for New North Sea Oil and Gas Drilling
Bank of England Warns Inflation Will Stay Above 3% as Middle East Energy Shock Prolongs Cost-of-Living Pressures
Andy Burnham has Announces Plans to Redistribute Income Tax Revenue to English Mayors
Early-Release Scheme Faces Fresh Scrutiny as Reoffending and Prison Recalls Rise
Police Phone Checks Followed Report on Murder of MI5 Agent Inside Sinn Féin
Archbishop of Canterbury Reaffirms £100 Million Reparative Justice Fund During Ghana Visit
Charities Allege French Police Used Tear Gas Against Channel Migrants
Norwegian Teenager Convicted Over Iran-Linked Murder Plot in Britain
Christian Organisations File Charity Complaints Against Amnesty International UK
Ofgem Tightens Grid Connection Rules for New Data Centres
FTSE 100 Reaches Record High Despite Global Technology Sell-Off
Millions of UK Households Urged to Check Eligibility for Winter Energy Discount
Labour Restores Parliamentary Whips to Diane Abbott and Joani Reid
UK Supreme Court to Hear Challenge Over Palestine Action Ban
UK Commits More Than £8.4 Billion to Dreadnought Nuclear Submarine Programme
England Declares Severe Drought as Wildfire Burns Near Sizewell Nuclear Site
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at 3.75% as Middle East Tensions Fuel Inflation Risks
Drought Status Extended Across All of Wales as Heat and Dry Weather Deepen Environmental Strain
Record-Low Danube Exposes Probable Mammoth Remains in Bulgaria
UK Business Confidence Climbs to Four-Month High
Greater Manchester Gains Expanded Powers Under Regional Funding Reforms
UK Supreme Court to Hear Appeal Over Palestine Action Terror Ban
Shell's Quarterly Profit Doubles to Nearly $10 Billion on Higher Energy Prices
UK Government Removes VAT From Household Electricity Bills
Exceptional Drought Grips Half of England as Wildfire Threatens Sizewell
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at 3.75% as Inflation Risks Persist
US Says It Has Carried Out Heavy Strikes on Iran After Attempted Attacks on Its Forces
The chief executive of the popular gaming company laid off many employees and his pay rose to 38 million dollars
UK Employment Holds Steady as Wage Growth Remains Moderate
England to Introduce Artificial Intelligence into Secondary School Curriculum
Wales Launches £1.2 Billion Industrial Regeneration Programme
High Court Upholds UK Digital Surveillance Framework
Northern Ireland Reaches Budget Agreement on Infrastructure and Public Sector Pay
Home Office Expands Digital Border Checks Nationwide
UK Approves Major North Sea Wind and Carbon Capture Project
The World's Most Terrifying Smartphone: Recording, Documenting, and Reporting to the Regime
Scotland Approves Major Renewable Energy Expansion
UK and United States Sign AI and Semiconductor Cooperation Pact
UK Treasury Tightens Fiscal Controls After Gilt Market Volatility
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at 4.5%
UK Unveils £10 Billion NHS Funding Overhaul and Workforce Reform
The AI User Nightmare: Private Claude Conversations Leaked to the Internet
UK: Former Football Association Leaders Call for World Cup Boycott Over FIFA Privatization Plan
Forbidden Love: China severs millions from their virtual partners
×