Fans have branded Jennifer Lopez “petty” in the wake of her “revenge divorce” from Ben Affleck on the couple’s second wedding anniversary.
But My unexpected encounter with JLo It remains to this day one of my most treasured celebrity encounters, even after she scolded me for the way I approached her.
I was on vacation in New York City in August 2016 when I decided to try and meet Lopez, one of my all-time favorite singers.
I was in town filming Shades of Blue with Ray Liotta.
If you know JLo, you know she’s pretty routine-oriented. Every morning before 6am she’s at the boxing gym or training and then she’s off to the set.
And since his gym is just a stone’s throw from his apartment, he often walks, which gave me an idea.
I admit, some may find this a little creepy, but I thought, why not try to “run into her” on her way to the gym?
After all, what harm can there be in a little serendipitous moment with a fan? I mean, it’s not like I’m going to shell out $2000 to meet someone, although I have done that with Britney Spears, I’m not ashamed of it!
Fans have branded Jennifer Lopez “petty” following her “revenge divorce” from Ben Affleck on the couple’s second wedding anniversary. The couple photographed in March
But my unexpected encounter with JLo is to this day one of my most treasured celebrity encounters, even after she scolded me for the way I approached her. Pictured: Ali Daher and Jennifer Lopez in 2016
My friend and I couldn’t figure out which gym she was headed to that morning, so we decided to play it safe and waited near her apartment.
What we didn’t know was that his driver had been watching us for hours and had already warned him that some fans were hanging around nearby.
About an hour passed and then I saw her.
There was JLo, walking straight towards me with a friend in tow. I was just a few feet from her front door when she called me and my friend over for a “chat.”
Now, I’m not going to lie: she wasn’t happy.
I was on vacation in New York in August 2016 when I decided to try and meet Lopez, one of my all-time favorite singers. She was in town filming Shades of Blue with Ray Liotta.
My friend and I didn’t know which gym she was headed to that morning, so we decided to play it safe and wait near her apartment. What we didn’t know was that her driver had been watching us for hours and had already warned her.
She asked us what we wanted, and when I explained that I was a big fan of Australia and wanted to meet her, she didn’t hesitate to let us know that her house was off-limits for fan meetings.
And I honestly get it. He said, “I’d love to meet you guys anywhere in town and take pictures and sign whatever you have on any other occasion, but this isn’t the time or the place.”
It’s totally understandable, right? But here’s the thing: most celebrities would have sent a personal assistant or security guard to deliver this message. Not JLo.
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get close to her dressing room. She was busy filming an outdoor scene with Ray Liotta and, although I looked her in the eye several times, she kept holding up her finger to indicate “just a minute.” Photographed with Ray Liotta
She took care of everything herself, and that’s something I deeply respect. She even suggested we try to meet her on set, which was a much better option.
Her assistant mentioned that if we waited, we could be invited to her trailer to say hi while she was filming. So, we took an Uber across town in hopes of meeting her on set.
Unfortunately we couldn’t get close to his dressing room.
I was busy filming an outdoor scene with Liotta, and even though I made eye contact with her a few times, she kept holding up a finger to signal “one minute.”
This happened two or three times, and each time I waited anxiously, but internally I was starting to give up on taking a selfie with her.
As the crowd around the set grew, security began moving people away. But then, something unexpected happened.
One of the security guards pointed us out and escorted us to her dressing room. Moments later, JLo herself poked her head out and told us she would be with us in a minute.
One of the security guards pointed us out and escorted us to his dressing room.
A few moments later, JLo herself poked her head out and told us she would be with us in a minute.
She was dressed casually in a pair of sequined sweatpants, a cropped sweater and sunglasses, still looking like a superstar.
When she arrived, she gave us another nice talk about how that set was the right place to meet her, not outside her house, before taking a photo with me.
He even signed a photo for me and two of my DVDs.
When she arrived, she gave us another nice talk about how the set was the right place to meet her, not outside her house.
But then he took photos with us, signed everything we owned, and even sent his love back to Australia.
It was an amazing moment and honestly getting told off by JLo was one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had.
I will always love J. Lo, even when her fans call her “petty” after her “revenge divorce” from Ben Affleck